Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) saw a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 42,510,000 shares, a growth of 50.7% from the December 15th total of 28,210,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 14,400,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HBAN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $20.00 price target (up from $18.50) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Huntington Bancshares in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $19.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Huntington Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $15.00 to $17.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.76.

Insider Transactions at Huntington Bancshares

In other news, insider Helga Houston sold 6,455 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 558,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,615,217.06. The trade was a 1.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott D. Kleinman sold 28,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.67, for a total transaction of $505,362.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 496,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,765,662.92. The trade was a 5.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,699 shares of company stock valued at $757,356 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HBAN. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 200.7% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 19.1% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,545 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the period. 80.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntington Bancshares Trading Up 1.0 %

HBAN stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.01. The company had a trading volume of 31,298,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,691,037. The stock has a market cap of $24.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.43. Huntington Bancshares has a 12 month low of $12.02 and a 12 month high of $18.44.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 14.19%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.62%.

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.