Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.03), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 17.71%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Huntington Bancshares’ conference call:

• Huntington closed out an exceptionally strong 2025 with 11% revenue growth, 16% adjusted EPS growth, 290 bps of positive operating leverage, and robust organic lending and deposit expansion (average loans +14.4% yoy; excluding Veritex +8.6%).
• The Veritex conversion is complete (187 days) with its cost synergies expected fully in run rate by Q2, and Cadence is set to close Feb 1 with systems migration mid-year and full Cadence cost-synergy run rate targeted in Q4 2026 (≈75% of Cadence synergies expected in 2026).
• 2026 standalone guidance calls for strong operating performance—NII +10–13%, fees +13–16%, loans +11–12% and deposits +8–9%—with 150–200 bps of operating leverage and a target ~55% efficiency ratio for the year.
• Capital strategy emphasizes funding high-return loan growth and dividends while moving adjusted CET1 toward the 9–10% midpoint, and management expects capacity for roughly $50M per quarter of buybacks after the Cadence close.
• Credit remains generally healthy (net charge-offs 24 bps) but the criticized asset ratio rose to 4.2%, driven mainly by Veritex commercial real estate loans identified in diligence, which is a potential area of elevated risk to monitor.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of HBAN stock opened at $17.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.28 and a 200 day moving average of $16.88. Huntington Bancshares has a 52 week low of $11.91 and a 52 week high of $18.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 18th. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Huntington Bancshares

In related news, Director John C. Inglis purchased 6,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.30 per share, with a total value of $99,541.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 89,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,374,414.30. This represents a 7.81% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 12,832 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $230,976.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 239,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,310,514. The trade was a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 97,863 shares of company stock worth $1,581,634. 0.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 3.9% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 63,302,953 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,091,615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363,905 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Huntington Bancshares by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 59,062,922 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,020,017,000 after acquiring an additional 861,263 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 4.3% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 15,641,170 shares of the bank’s stock worth $261,364,000 after acquiring an additional 644,938 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 2.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 9,486,239 shares of the bank’s stock worth $163,827,000 after purchasing an additional 226,916 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 85.7% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 6,790,019 shares of the bank’s stock worth $117,264,000 after purchasing an additional 3,133,208 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Huntington Bancshares

Here are the key news stories impacting Huntington Bancshares this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board keeps quarterly common dividend at $0.155 (annualized yield ~3.5%), signaling capital stability and supporting income investors. PR Newswire: Dividend Declaration
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley cut its price target to $21 but kept an “overweight” rating — implying ~21% upside from current levels and institutional confidence in longer-term upside. TickerReport: Morgan Stanley PT
• Positive Sentiment: Management emphasizes continued organic and digital growth, including opening branches nearly every two weeks as part of expansion into the South — a growth narrative that can support revenue/margin expansion over time. Fortune: Growth Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Media and commentator support (e.g., Jim Cramer) highlights confidence in the franchise and long-term prospects, which can help sentiment among retail investors. Yahoo Finance: Jim Cramer
• Neutral Sentiment: Huntington is preparing a debt offering ahead of the Cadence Bank merger — a routine financing step for M&A but one to watch for size/terms that could affect leverage and funding cost. TipRanks: Debt Offering
• Neutral Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods trimmed its price target to $19.50 and moved to “market perform” — a modest adjustment that still implies upside but signals more cautious expectations. Benzinga: KBW PT
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results missed consensus: reported $0.37 EPS vs. ~$0.40 expected, revenue slightly below estimates, and a notable year-over-year rise in expenses/credit provisions — the primary catalyst for intraday weakness. MarketBeat: Q4 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its target to $17 but kept an “underweight” rating, and that stance plus the earnings miss reinforces bearish analyst positioning for near-term performance. MarketScreener: Piper Sandler PT

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on HBAN shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price (down previously from $21.00) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $19.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Huntington Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

About Huntington Bancshares

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.