Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Receives $20.60 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.5952.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HBAN. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Argus lifted their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Evercore initiated coverage on Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $21.00 target price for the company. National Bank Financial set a $21.00 price target on Huntington Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th.

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In related news, Director Gary Torgow purchased 14,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.81 per share, with a total value of $252,902.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 943,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,800,903.21. This represents a 1.53% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brantley J. Standridge sold 5,830 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.14, for a total value of $111,586.20. Following the sale, the vice president owned 327,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,271,718.64. This represents a 1.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 50,145 shares of company stock valued at $929,885 in the last quarter. 0.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $236,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Huntington Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $241,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Huntington Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in Huntington Bancshares by 252.9% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 13,064 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 9,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 62,971,849 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,092,562,000 after purchasing an additional 3,908,927 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

Huntington Bancshares stock opened at $17.54 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $17.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Huntington Bancshares has a 52-week low of $11.91 and a 52-week high of $19.45. The firm has a market cap of $35.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.96.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.03). Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The business had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 18th. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.60%.

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.