Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in 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 trading volume of 14,400,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Huntington Bancshares Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ HBAN traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $17.01. 31,298,513 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,691,037. The stock has a market cap of $24.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.07. Huntington Bancshares has a 52 week low of $12.02 and a 52 week high of $18.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.88 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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. Huntington Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 14.19%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Analysts forecast that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Zachary Jacob Wasserman sold 8,644 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.63, for a total value of $152,393.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 259,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,582,795.09. This trade represents a 3.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Helga Houston sold 6,455 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.43, for a total value of $99,600.65. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 558,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,615,217.06. This trade represents a 1.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 43,699 shares of company stock worth $757,356. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Huntington Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HBAN. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 19.4% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 32,391 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 5,262 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new position in Huntington Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $428,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 15.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,508,509 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,882,000 after purchasing an additional 207,328 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 43.1% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 839,162 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,667,000 after purchasing an additional 252,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 3.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,810,239 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $208,346,000 after purchasing an additional 561,565 shares during the period. 80.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HBAN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $16.25 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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. Sandler O’Neill reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays upped their price target on Huntington Bancshares from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $20.00 target price (up previously from $18.50) on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.76.

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.