Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo upgraded Huntington Bancshares to “strong buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $20.24.
• Huntington reported quarterly EPS of $0.39, matching estimates, and revenue of $2.86 billion, slightly above the $2.84 billion consensus forecast.
• The stock opened at $17.95, near its 50-day moving average of $17.59; institutional investors own a substantial 80.72% of outstanding shares, while insiders have been net sellers over the past three months.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $19.00 target price (down from $21.00) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Friday, July 24th. Piper Sandler upgraded Huntington Bancshares from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $18.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $18.50 to $19.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Monday, July 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Huntington Bancshares has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $20.24.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ HBAN opened at $17.95 on Monday. Huntington Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $14.89 and a fifty-two week high of $19.45. The stock's 50-day moving average is $17.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.88. The firm has a market cap of $36.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.39. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.19% and a net margin of 16.64%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. Huntington Bancshares has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.930 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Kendall A. Kowalski sold 27,971 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total transaction of $481,101.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 70,025 shares in the company, valued at $1,204,430. The trade was a 28.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 10,568 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $190,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 267,859 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,821,462. This represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 22,000 shares of company stock valued at $401,219 and have sold 262,061 shares valued at $4,549,432. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HBAN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,319,041 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,319,385,000 after purchasing an additional 14,338,222 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the second quarter valued at about $3,134,426,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,228,656 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,351,806,000 after buying an additional 3,438,501 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Huntington Bancshares by 4,265.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 70,083,841 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,215,955,000 after buying an additional 68,478,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in Huntington Bancshares by 3.9% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 63,302,953 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,091,615,000 after buying an additional 2,363,905 shares in the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated NASDAQ: HBAN is a bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, that provides a broad range of banking and financial services through its principal subsidiary, Huntington National Bank. The company's operations are centered on retail and commercial banking, and it serves individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, and institutional customers.

Huntington's product offerings include traditional deposit and lending products, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage origination and servicing, auto financing, and business banking solutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source