Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Now Covered by Jefferies Financial Group

Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 25.47% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $17.50 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $16.50 target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $18.50 to $16.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.83.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

HBAN stock opened at $15.94 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.98. Huntington Bancshares has a 1 year low of $11.92 and a 1 year high of $18.45.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 prior year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In related news, CFO Zachary Jacob Wasserman sold 38,451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.38, for a total value of $552,925.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 335,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,825,036.44. The trade was a 10.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brendan A. Lawlor sold 3,521 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.25, for a total value of $53,695.25. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $731,237.50. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 312,456 shares of company stock worth $4,464,105 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 290,815 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,365,000 after purchasing an additional 15,597 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 17.6% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 14,294 shares of the bank’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 2,136 shares during the last quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. bought a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the first quarter valued at $238,000. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 53.4% during the first quarter. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,963 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 6,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 4.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 14,226,006 shares of the bank’s stock worth $213,532,000 after acquiring an additional 546,406 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

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.