Huntington Bancshares Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 97,130 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 2,098% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,420 call options.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of HBAN opened at $17.75 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $25.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s fifty day moving average is $16.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.60. Huntington Bancshares has a 1 year low of $11.91 and a 1 year high of $18.03.

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

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 18th will be issued a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 18th. Huntington Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 43.36%.

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In related news, Director John C. Inglis bought 6,506 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.30 per share, for a total transaction of $99,541.80. Following the acquisition, the director owned 89,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,374,414.30. This represents a 7.81% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 12,832 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $230,976.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 239,473 shares in the company, valued at $4,310,514. This trade represents a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 87,863 shares of company stock worth $1,396,634 over the last 90 days. 0.89% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Accurate Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 3.5% in the second quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,159 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. LifeWealth Investments LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 6.2% in the third quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,081 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake 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 worth $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Planning Inc. grew 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 worth $3,442,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HBAN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.64.

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.