Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

HBAN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Stephens dropped their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $18.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (down from $21.00) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.43.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Huntington Bancshares stock opened at $15.17 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $30.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Huntington Bancshares has a 1 year low of $14.82 and a 1 year high of $19.45. The company’s 50-day moving average is $16.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.67.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 11.19%. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. Huntington Bancshares has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.930 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 17th were given a dividend of $0.1550 per share. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 17th. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kendall Kowalski sold 27,971 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total value of $481,101.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 70,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,204,430. The trade was a 28.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Huntington Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HBAN. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the second quarter worth about $3,134,426,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,412,989 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $649,115,000 after purchasing an additional 3,182,001 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 27.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 23,480,601 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $367,388,000 after purchasing an additional 5,026,894 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 30.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 19,502,547 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $305,215,000 after purchasing an additional 4,578,566 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $256,772,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

About Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Its principal subsidiary, The Huntington National Bank, provides consumer, small-business and commercial banking services through branch offices, digital banking channels and automated teller machines.

The company offers deposit accounts, residential and commercial mortgages, home equity lending, auto loans, personal lending, credit cards and other consumer financial products. Its business banking operations provide lending, treasury management, payment processing and capital markets services, while its wealth management and insurance businesses serve individuals, families and institutions.

Founded in 1866, Huntington has developed a banking franchise across the Midwest, with a presence in states including Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois and Wisconsin.