Short Interest in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Rises By 13.5%

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 33,650,000 shares, an increase of 13.5% from the October 31st total of 29,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 13,650,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HBAN traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.63. 8,979,038 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,909,367. Huntington Bancshares has a twelve month low of $11.57 and a twelve month high of $18.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $16.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.06.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 14.19%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. Huntington Bancshares’s payout ratio is 59.62%.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Bancshares

In other news, VP Scott D. Kleinman sold 28,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.67, for a total transaction of $505,362.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 496,076 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,765,662.92. The trade was a 5.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Helga Houston sold 6,455 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.43, for a total transaction of $99,600.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 558,342 shares in the company, valued at $8,615,217.06. This trade represents a 1.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 43,699 shares of company stock valued at $757,356. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 200.7% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 695.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 2,291 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 2,003 shares in the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HBAN has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Sandler O’Neill restated a “buy” rating on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $15.00 to $17.50 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Huntington Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.76.

Huntington Bancshares Company Profile

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.