The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Price Target to $20.00

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) had its price target decreased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $21.00 to $20.00 in a report issued on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $19.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.13.

Huntington Bancshares Trading Up 3.0%

HBAN opened at $16.35 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $16.68 and its 200-day moving average is $16.76. Huntington Bancshares has a 1-year low of $12.08 and a 1-year high of $19.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $33.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.76, a PEG ratio of 0.64 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during 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 quarter last year, the business earned $0.34 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Huntington Bancshares news, VP Scott D. Kleinman sold 65,530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.28, for a total transaction of $1,001,298.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 481,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,360,009.28. This trade represents a 11.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Brendan A. Lawlor sold 17,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total transaction of $330,423.15. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 42,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,594.14. The trade was a 29.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 27,700 shares of company stock worth $540,401 and have sold 98,986 shares worth $1,600,958. 0.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Altrius Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $4,894,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 176,980,819 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,056,459,000 after acquiring an additional 680,601 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth $3,746,000. Midwest Trust Co boosted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 1,510,977 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,095,000 after acquiring an additional 170,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,238,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $159,543,000 after acquiring an additional 314,544 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Bancshares Company Profile

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.