Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Stock

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $21.00 to $23.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the bank’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 35.33% from the stock’s current price.

HBAN has been the subject of several other research reports. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays increased their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $21.00 price objective on Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Huntington Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.69.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of HBAN traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $17.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,033,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,230,137. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Huntington Bancshares has a 12-month low of $11.91 and a 12-month high of $19.45. The stock has a market cap of $34.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $17.81 and its 200 day moving average is $17.08.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Huntington Bancshares news, Director Gary Torgow purchased 14,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.81 per share, for a total transaction of $252,902.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 943,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,800,903.21. This trade represents a 1.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kendall A. Kowalski sold 2,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.80, for a total transaction of $44,161.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 71,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,273,874.80. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,145 shares of company stock valued at $929,885. 0.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Huntington Bancshares

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,319,041 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,319,385,000 after purchasing an additional 14,338,222 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,228,656 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,351,806,000 after buying an additional 3,438,501 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 4,265.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 70,083,841 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,215,955,000 after buying an additional 68,478,435 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in Huntington Bancshares by 3.9% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 63,302,953 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,091,615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,363,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 62,971,849 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,092,562,000 after acquiring an additional 3,908,927 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

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.