Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $18.04 and last traded at $17.8150, with a volume of 1225599 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on HBAN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research cut Huntington Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $18.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Huntington Bancshares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.64.

Huntington Bancshares Trading Down 0.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $25.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $16.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.56.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, December 1st. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $580.00 million during the quarter. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.14% and a net margin of 18.06%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, December 18th will be given a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 18th. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Huntington Bancshares

In related news, Director John C. Inglis acquired 6,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.30 per share, for a total transaction of $99,541.80. Following the purchase, the director owned 89,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,374,414.30. The trade was a 7.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 6,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.65, for a total transaction of $100,410.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 252,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,948,573.25. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Huntington Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 167,515 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,808,000 after buying an additional 35,014 shares in the last quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust increased its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 59.2% in the second quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 175,144 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,935,000 after acquiring an additional 65,144 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its position in Huntington Bancshares by 43.4% during the second quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 94,979 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after purchasing an additional 28,739 shares in the last quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 1,706.3% in the 2nd quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 200,566 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,361,000 after purchasing an additional 189,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 60,939,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,020,382,000 after purchasing an additional 2,776,429 shares during the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Huntington Bancshares

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.