Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Share Price Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.82 and traded as high as $16.10. Huntington Bancshares shares last traded at $15.92, with a volume of 17,345,365 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HBAN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $21.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $19.50 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.89.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $15.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $32.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.97.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.93% and a net margin of 16.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, December 18th will be issued a $0.1550 dividend. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 18th. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.24%.

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In related news, Director Gary Torgow acquired 12,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.73 per share, with a total value of $199,771.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 956,041 shares in the company, valued at $15,038,524.93. This trade represents a 1.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James D. Rollins III bought 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.12 per share, for a total transaction of $253,680.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 15,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $280,860. This represents a 933.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HBAN. Means Investment CO. Inc. purchased a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $165,000. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 90.7% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,682 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $35,000. 80.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Its principal subsidiary, The Huntington National Bank, provides consumer and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, and institutions. The company traces its roots to 1866, when P.W. Huntington & Company opened in Columbus. Huntington’s offerings include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, business lending, treasury management, wealth management, and investment services.