Jefferies Financial Group Initiates Coverage on Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 29.62% from the stock’s previous close.

HBAN has been the subject of several other research reports. Baird R W raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Argus set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $17.50 to $17.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $17.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Huntington Bancshares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.83.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

HBAN opened at $15.43 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $14.55 and a 200-day moving average of $15.97. The company has a market capitalization of $22.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.89. Huntington Bancshares has a 1-year low of $11.92 and a 1-year high of $18.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 11.23%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 17th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In related news, insider Kendall A. Kowalski sold 25,419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.68, for a total transaction of $347,731.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 70,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $961,444.08. This represents a 26.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Helga Houston sold 42,345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.72, for a total transaction of $623,318.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 592,119 shares in the company, valued at $8,715,991.68. This represents a 6.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 312,456 shares of company stock valued at $4,464,105 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 17,533.3% during the fourth quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 1,587 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 126.8% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,830 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 73.0% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,929 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 814 shares during the period. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

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.