Traders Buy High Volume of Huntington Bancshares Call Options (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 6,056 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 68% compared to the typical volume of 3,612 call options.

Insider Activity

In other Huntington Bancshares news, insider Helga Houston sold 64,587 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.38, for a total value of $993,348.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 534,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,222,763.20. The trade was a 10.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 41,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $739,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 299,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,388,498. The trade was a 12.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 112,103 shares of company stock valued at $1,833,558 over the last ninety days. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Accurate Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,159 shares of the bank’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the period. LifeWealth Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 2.3% in the second quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC now owns 28,501 shares of the bank’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,081 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 164,551 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Planning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Planning Inc. now owns 199,318 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,442,000 after buying an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of HBAN stock traded up $0.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.91. 5,832,599 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,160,566. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.96. Huntington Bancshares has a 12 month low of $11.91 and a 12 month high of $18.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $16.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.47.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, December 1st. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $580.00 million for the quarter. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 12.14% and a net margin of 18.06%. On average, research analysts forecast that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 18th. Huntington Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 43.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HBAN shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective (down previously from $21.00) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Huntington Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.69.

Huntington Bancshares Company 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.