Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $18.65 and last traded at $18.6650, with a volume of 5987075 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HBAN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded Huntington Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Huntington Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.08.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.87.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Huntington Bancshares news, insider Amit Dhingra sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.50, for a total value of $185,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 155,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,879,229. This trade represents a 6.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Marcy C. Hingst sold 12,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $230,976.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 239,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,310,514. This trade represents a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 97,863 shares of company stock worth $1,581,634 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Huntington Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $26,000. South Plains Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 116.3% in the third quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 1,536 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 826 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 374.5% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,675 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Huntington Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

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.