Morgan Stanley Reaffirms Equal Weight Rating for Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by research analysts at Morgan Stanley in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $19.00 price target on the bank’s stock, down from their previous price target of $21.00. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 9.45% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on HBAN. UBS Group raised their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Barclays cut shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Huntington Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.14.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

HBAN opened at $17.36 on Friday. Huntington Bancshares has a 1-year low of $14.89 and a 1-year high of $19.45. The stock has a market cap of $35.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.39. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.84 billion. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.19% and a net margin of 16.64%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. Huntington Bancshares has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.930 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James D. Rollins III sold 223,522 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.35, for a total transaction of $3,878,106.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 612,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,620,889.25. This trade represents a 26.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 10,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $190,224.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 267,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,821,462. The trade was a 3.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 33,500 shares of company stock worth $617,542. Corporate insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Huntington Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 191,319,041 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,319,385,000 after acquiring an additional 14,338,222 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,228,656 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,351,806,000 after purchasing an additional 3,438,501 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 4,265.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 70,083,841 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,215,955,000 after purchasing an additional 68,478,435 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 3.9% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 63,302,953 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,091,615,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 62,971,849 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,092,562,000 after purchasing an additional 3,908,927 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Bancshares News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Huntington Bancshares this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HBAN reported Q2 adjusted EPS of $0.39, matching Wall Street estimates, while revenue came in slightly ahead of expectations. Management also raised FY 2026 EPS guidance to $1.90-$1.93, above consensus, signaling confidence in continued earnings growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The bank highlighted growth in net interest income, fee income, loans, and deposits, which supports the view that core business trends remain healthy. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Huntington also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.155 per share, which may appeal to income-focused investors and reinforces capital return plans.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with consensus calling the stock a “Moderate Buy,” but several firms kept only an “equal weight” view.
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley and Stephens both lowered their price targets to $19, while Robert W. Baird raised its target to $21 and kept an outperform rating, leaving the analyst message mixed overall.
• Negative Sentiment: Rising funding costs pressured Q2 margins, and higher expenses and provisions remain a headwind for profitability. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The recent pullback in analyst price targets may be limiting upside expectations, even after the earnings report.

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.