Morgan Stanley Cuts Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Price Target to $21.00

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $23.00 to $21.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.05.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of Huntington Bancshares stock opened at $17.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Huntington Bancshares has a one year low of $11.91 and a one year high of $18.91. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.95.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 11.98%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 18th. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Helga Houston sold 64,587 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.38, for a total transaction of $993,348.06. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 534,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,222,763.20. This represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kendall A. Kowalski sold 2,481 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.80, for a total transaction of $44,161.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 71,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,273,874.80. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 97,863 shares of company stock valued at $1,581,634. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Huntington Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the third quarter worth $26,000. South Plains Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 116.3% during the third quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 1,536 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 374.5% during the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,675 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Key Huntington Bancshares News

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

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.