Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 42,510,000 shares, a growth of 50.7% from the December 15th total of 28,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 14,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HBAN. StockNews.com raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays boosted their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial started coverage on Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $19.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Sandler O’Neill reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.76.

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In other Huntington Bancshares news, insider Helga Houston sold 6,455 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.43, for a total value of $99,600.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 558,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,615,217.06. The trade was a 1.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Zachary Jacob Wasserman sold 8,644 shares of Huntington Bancshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.63, for a total value of $152,393.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 259,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,582,795.09. This represents a 3.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 43,699 shares of company stock valued at $757,356. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 200.7% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 1,801 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,545 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ HBAN traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.01. 31,298,513 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,691,037. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.43. Huntington Bancshares has a 1-year low of $12.02 and a 1-year high of $18.44. The company has a market cap of $24.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 10.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.22 EPS for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.62%.

Huntington Bancshares Company Profile

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated operates as the bank holding company for The Huntington National Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage banking services in the United States. The company offers financial products and services to consumer and business customers, including deposits, lending, payments, mortgage banking, dealer financing, investment management, trust, brokerage, insurance, and other financial products and services.