Investors Research Corp Cuts Stake in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Investors Research Corp reduced its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,028 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 6,475 shares during the quarter. Investors Research Corp’s holdings in Huntington Bancshares were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 11.8% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 189,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,765,000 after buying an additional 19,959 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at about $315,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 309.4% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 10,001 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 7,558 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 40.9% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 104,361 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 30,296 shares during the period. Finally, Aviva PLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 58.2% during the first quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 798,754 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,678,000 after purchasing an additional 293,944 shares during the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

HBAN opened at $13.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.11. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 1-year low of $9.13 and a 1-year high of $14.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The bank reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.15. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.96% and a net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were issued a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.68%. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HBAN. Bank of America upgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $16.00 in a report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group raised Huntington Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $15.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Monday, April 1st. DA Davidson raised Huntington Bancshares from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $15.50 in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Huntington Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ann B. Crane sold 58,000 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total transaction of $785,320.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 192,247 shares in the company, valued at $2,603,024.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Huntington Bancshares news, Director Ann B. Crane sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.54, for a total transaction of $785,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 192,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,603,024.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Helga Houston sold 28,700 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.17, for a total value of $377,979.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 568,222 shares in the company, valued at $7,483,483.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 102,241 shares of company stock worth $1,360,359 in the last three months. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Huntington Bancshares Profile

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.