Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Short Interest Update

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 70,000,000 shares, a growth of 19.5% from the February 28th total of 58,600,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 21,990,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 4.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott D. Kleinman sold 69,088 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.67, for a total value of $1,013,520.96. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 453,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,647,402.43. This trade represents a 13.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Brendan A. Lawlor sold 3,521 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.25, for a total value of $53,695.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 47,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $731,237.50. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 111,781 shares of company stock valued at $1,631,151. 0.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntington Bancshares

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 17,533.3% during the 4th quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 1,587 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 126.8% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,830 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 70.0% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 3,061 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,260 shares during the last quarter. 80.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntington Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of Huntington Bancshares stock traded down $1.37 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $13.84. The company had a trading volume of 17,284,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,932,461. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.16. Huntington Bancshares has a 1-year low of $12.05 and a 1-year high of $18.45. The company has a market capitalization of $20.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.07.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last released its 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 return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 16.23%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Huntington Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were paid a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HBAN. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Huntington Bancshares from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays raised their target price on Huntington Bancshares from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $17.50 to $17.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.94.

About Huntington Bancshares

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.