Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 22,770,000 shares, a decline of 9.5% from the April 15th total of 25,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 16,680,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HBAN shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $16.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $15.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $15.17.

Huntington Bancshares Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of HBAN stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.26. The stock had a trading volume of 12,859,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,871,471. Huntington Bancshares has a 52-week low of $9.25 and a 52-week high of $14.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $13.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 19th. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 15.86% and a return on equity of 11.99%. The company had revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Huntington Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is 55.86%.

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In related news, VP Julie C. Tutkovics sold 15,541 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.68, for a total value of $197,059.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 303,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,847,809.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Huntington Bancshares news, VP Brantley J. Standridge sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.60, for a total value of $680,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 385,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,241,562.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Julie C. Tutkovics sold 15,541 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.68, for a total transaction of $197,059.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 303,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,847,809.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 224,092 shares of company stock worth $3,031,731. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 2.3% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,794,810 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,066,000 after purchasing an additional 62,674 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,261,000. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,000,872 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,731,000 after buying an additional 141,410 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 43.4% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,530 shares of the bank's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 199.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 374,289 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,893,000 after buying an additional 249,356 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.72% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.