Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Stock

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has raised their target price for Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN) from $19.00 to $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 29.03% from the stock's previous close.
• Other analysts, including Deutsche Bank and Jefferies Financial Group, have also increased their price targets, suggesting a consensus of strong optimism towards the stock, with ratings primarily set as "buy."
• Huntington Bancshares has demonstrated solid financial performance with a reported net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 12.14% in its last quarterly earnings report.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "market perform" rating on the bank's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective points to a potential upside of 29.03% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on HBAN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.66.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HBAN opened at $15.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $22.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $17.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.12. Huntington Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $11.91 and a fifty-two week high of $18.44.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 12.14%. The company had revenue of $469.00 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Huntington Bancshares news, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 41,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $739,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 299,361 shares in the company, valued at $5,388,498. This represents a 12.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 73.0% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,929 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 814 shares during the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated operates as the bank holding company for The Huntington National Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage banking services in the United States. The company offers financial products and services to consumer and business customers, including deposits, lending, payments, mortgage banking, dealer financing, investment management, trust, brokerage, insurance, and other financial products and services.

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