Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $18.98

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.89.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered Huntington Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Morgan Stanley cut Huntington Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $21.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $17.50 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Down 2.8%

Huntington Bancshares stock opened at $15.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Huntington Bancshares has a 1-year low of $14.82 and a 1-year high of $19.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.66. The company has a market cap of $31.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.97.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.38. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.93%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 18th will be paid a $0.1550 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 18th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Huntington Bancshares news, SVP Donnell R. White sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.87, for a total value of $47,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 23,697 shares in the company, valued at $376,071.39. This trade represents a 11.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director James D. Rollins III acquired 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.12 per share, with a total value of $253,680.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $280,860. This trade represents a 933.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 41.4% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 2,495 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 126,569 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,931,000 after purchasing an additional 16,356 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 26,542 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 5,679 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its position in Huntington Bancshares by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 35,189 shares of the bank’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 2,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,762,000. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntington Bancshares Company Profile

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Its principal subsidiary, The Huntington National Bank, provides banking and financial services to consumers, businesses, institutions and government entities.

The company’s offerings include checking and savings accounts, consumer and residential lending, credit cards, auto finance, mortgages, commercial loans, treasury management, investment and wealth management services, insurance, and other financial solutions.