Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Given New $18.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Free Report) had its price target trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the bank's stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on HBAN. Citigroup cut their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Baird R W upgraded Huntington Bancshares from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $18.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Monday. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $16.50 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Huntington Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.45.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ HBAN traded down $0.15 during trading on Monday, hitting $14.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 17,839,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,340,108. Huntington Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $11.92 and a fifty-two week high of $18.45. The company has a market cap of $21.03 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $14.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.99.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The bank reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 16.23% and a return on equity of 11.23%. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 17th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 17th will be issued a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 17th. Huntington Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 47.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Zachary Jacob Wasserman sold 38,451 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.38, for a total value of $552,925.38. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 335,538 shares in the company, valued at $4,825,036.44. This trade represents a 10.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kendall A. Kowalski sold 25,419 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.68, for a total value of $347,731.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 70,281 shares in the company, valued at $961,444.08. This represents a 26.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 207,617 shares of company stock worth $2,942,892 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the third quarter worth about $2,381,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 220.9% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,666,949 shares of the bank's stock worth $59,661,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524,077 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 850,139 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,832,000 after purchasing an additional 129,106 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $422,000. Finally, Donoghue Forlines LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,460,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.72% of the company's stock.

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.