KBC Group NV Increases Stock Holdings in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated $HBAN

KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,820,816 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 395,489 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Huntington Bancshares were worth $48,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HBAN. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,888 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 40.8% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 122,821 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,844,000 after buying an additional 35,574 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 39,490 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 3,023 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 219,185 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,674,000 after buying an additional 12,865 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 707,605 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,859,000 after buying an additional 41,156 shares during the period. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group set a $21.00 target price on Huntington Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.13.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

HBAN stock opened at $16.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 52-week low of $13.36 and a 52-week high of $19.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $16.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.73. The company has a market capitalization of $33.76 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.95.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.03). Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 17.71%.The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 3.7%. Huntington Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 44.60%.

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In other news, VP Brendan A. Lawlor sold 17,455 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.93, for a total value of $330,423.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 42,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,594.14. This trade represents a 29.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Prashant Nateri sold 10,171 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.50, for a total value of $157,650.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 83,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,299,194.50. The trade was a 10.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 27,700 shares of company stock worth $540,401 and sold 98,986 shares worth $1,600,958. 0.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Huntington Bancshares 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.