Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Short Interest Down 13.4% in March

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 66,405,212 shares, a decrease of 13.4% from the March 15th total of 76,665,019 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 26,531,491 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

HBAN stock opened at $16.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Huntington Bancshares has a one year low of $13.36 and a one year high of $19.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.72.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.37 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.60%.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Bancshares

In other Huntington Bancshares news, VP Brendan A. Lawlor sold 17,455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total value of $330,423.15. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 42,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,594.14. This represents a 29.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Torgow purchased 14,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.81 per share, with a total value of $252,902.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 943,341 shares in the company, valued at $16,800,903.21. The trade was a 1.53% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 27,700 shares of company stock worth $540,401 and have sold 98,986 shares worth $1,600,958. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Huntington Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. South Plains Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 116.3% in the third quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 1,536 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 374.5% in the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,675 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares in the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HBAN. Wolfe Research cut their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Argus upped their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $21.00 target price on Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.13.

About Huntington Bancshares

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.