Principal Securities Inc. Raises Stake in Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,399 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,686 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Huntington Bancshares were worth $592,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 126.8% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 1,830 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of Huntington Bancshares by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 3,061 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Huntington Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Huntington Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of HBAN opened at $16.15 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $16.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.95. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated has a 12-month low of $12.05 and a 12-month high of $18.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Huntington Bancshares Incorporated will post 1.39 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be given a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Huntington Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on HBAN shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Huntington Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $18.50 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Huntington Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.06.

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.