Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Earns Outperform Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $20.00 target price on the bank’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 16.92% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on HBAN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $20.00 target price (up from $18.50) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.88.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HBAN traded up $0.10 on Tuesday, reaching $17.11. 6,070,725 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,611,430. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $24.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.07. Huntington Bancshares has a 52 week low of $12.05 and a 52 week high of $18.44. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.51.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 11.23%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Helga Houston sold 6,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.43, for a total transaction of $99,600.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 558,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,615,217.06. This trade represents a 1.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Zachary Jacob Wasserman sold 8,644 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 259,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,582,795.09. The trade was a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,699 shares of company stock worth $757,356 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HBAN. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 200.7% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,545 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares in 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.