Wealth Alliance Acquires 1,839 Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Wealth Alliance boosted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,598 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,839 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Huntington Bancshares were worth $847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HBAN. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Huntington Bancshares by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 189,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,765,000 after acquiring an additional 19,959 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in Huntington Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at about $315,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Huntington Bancshares by 309.4% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 10,001 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 7,558 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Huntington Bancshares by 40.9% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 104,361 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 30,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviva PLC lifted its position in Huntington Bancshares by 58.2% in the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 798,754 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,678,000 after acquiring an additional 293,944 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HBAN has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.97.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ann B. Crane sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total value of $785,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 192,247 shares in the company, valued at $2,603,024.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Julie C. Tutkovics sold 15,541 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 303,455 shares in the company, valued at $3,847,809.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ann B. Crane sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total transaction of $785,320.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 192,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,603,024.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 102,241 shares of company stock valued at $1,360,359 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ HBAN opened at $13.04 on Wednesday. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 52-week low of $9.13 and a 52-week high of $14.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $13.22 and a 200-day moving average of $12.09. The company has a market capitalization of $18.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.11.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The bank reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.15. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 18.00% and a return on equity of 12.96%. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. Huntington Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

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.