Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Baird R W downgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Bank of America boosted their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Huntington Bancshares presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $15.59.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HBAN opened at $14.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $21.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.06. Huntington Bancshares has a 12 month low of $9.25 and a 12 month high of $15.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.77 and a 200-day moving average of $13.53.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The bank reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 11.34%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 17th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.86%.

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In other Huntington Bancshares news, VP Nancy E. Maloney sold 57,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total value of $871,685.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 69,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,054,364.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Nancy E. Maloney sold 57,537 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total transaction of $871,685.55. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 69,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,054,364.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kendall A. Kowalski sold 5,747 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.98, for a total transaction of $86,090.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 65,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $987,167.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 123,900 shares of company stock valued at $1,862,176 in the last 90 days. 0.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Heartland Bank & Trust Co raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 4.2% during the second quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 32,833 shares of the bank’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 6.0% during the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 21,884 shares of the bank’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the second quarter worth $464,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 143.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 9,836 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 5,803 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Huntington Bancshares by 7.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 216,807 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,858,000 after acquiring an additional 14,146 shares during the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.