MQS Management LLC Invests $917,000 in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated $HBAN

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 53,077 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $917,000. Huntington Bancshares accounts for 0.5% of MQS Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Huntington Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of HBAN stock opened at $18.57 on Wednesday. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $11.91 and a fifty-two week high of $19.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $17.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $29.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.96.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.03). Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 44.60%.

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In other Huntington Bancshares news, VP Brantley J. Standridge sold 5,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.14, for a total transaction of $111,586.20. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 327,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,271,718.64. This represents a 1.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Amit Dhingra sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total value of $185,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 155,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,879,229. This trade represents a 6.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 103,693 shares of company stock worth $1,693,220 over the last quarter. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HBAN. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $19.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.60.

Huntington Bancshares Company Profile

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ: HBAN) is a bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, that provides a broad range of banking and financial services through its principal subsidiary, Huntington National Bank. The company’s operations are centered on retail and commercial banking, and it serves individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, and institutional customers.

Huntington’s product offerings include traditional deposit and lending products, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage origination and servicing, auto financing, and business banking solutions.