Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Huntington Bancshares from sell to hold, while the broader analyst picture remains positive with an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $20.05.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, posting earnings of $0.37 per share versus the $0.16 estimate and revenue of $2.59 billion, slightly ahead of expectations.
• Insider trading has been mixed recently, with one executive selling shares and a director buying shares; meanwhile, institutional investors own 80.72% of the stock, indicating substantial institutional backing.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on HBAN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $18.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore cut their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Argus raised their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Huntington Bancshares presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.05.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of HBAN opened at $16.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.17 and a 200-day moving average of $16.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Huntington Bancshares has a 52 week low of $14.89 and a 52 week high of $19.45.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.57 billion. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.42% and a net margin of 16.63%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Prashant Nateri sold 10,171 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.50, for a total value of $157,650.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 83,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,299,194.50. The trade was a 10.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gary Torgow acquired 14,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.81 per share, for a total transaction of $252,902.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 943,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,800,903.21. This represents a 1.53% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 39,200 shares of company stock worth $756,724 and have sold 93,156 shares worth $1,489,372. Insiders own 0.67% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Huntington Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Altrius Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth $4,894,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 176,980,819 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,056,459,000 after acquiring an additional 680,601 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 1,510,977 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,095,000 after acquiring an additional 170,240 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,238,142 shares of the bank's stock worth $159,543,000 after acquiring an additional 314,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth $3,746,000. Institutional investors own 80.72% of the company's stock.

Huntington Bancshares Company Profile

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.

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