Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $16.25 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $20.00 target price (up previously from $18.50) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.41.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of HBAN stock opened at $17.17 on Thursday. Huntington Bancshares has a 1 year low of $12.02 and a 1 year high of $18.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $16.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $24.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.06.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Zachary Jacob Wasserman sold 8,644 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.63, for a total transaction of $152,393.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 259,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,582,795.09. This represents a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott D. Kleinman sold 28,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.67, for a total transaction of $505,362.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 496,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,765,662.92. The trade was a 5.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 43,699 shares of company stock worth $757,356. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HBAN. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 200.7% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the third quarter worth $29,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 695.5% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 2,291 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,003 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the third quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.