Morgan Stanley Cuts Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) Price Target to $21.00

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) had its price target lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $23.00 to $21.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the bank’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential upside of 20.24% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Huntington Bancshares from $20.00 to $19.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Huntington Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.00.

Huntington Bancshares Stock Performance

Huntington Bancshares stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.47. 22,283,002 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,443,639. Huntington Bancshares has a 12 month low of $11.91 and a 12 month high of $18.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.24 and a 200 day moving average of $16.88. The firm has a market cap of $27.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.03). Huntington Bancshares had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 12.14%. The company had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.21 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Huntington Bancshares will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Huntington Bancshares

In other Huntington Bancshares news, insider Helga Houston sold 64,587 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.38, for a total value of $993,348.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 534,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,222,763.20. This represents a 10.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kendall A. Kowalski sold 2,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.80, for a total transaction of $44,161.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 71,566 shares in the company, valued at $1,273,874.80. This represents a 3.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 97,863 shares of company stock valued at $1,581,634. 0.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Huntington Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,888 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 40.8% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 122,821 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,844,000 after acquiring an additional 35,574 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Huntington Bancshares by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,032 shares of the bank’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in Huntington Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $976,000. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Huntington Bancshares by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,159 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.72% of the company’s stock.

More Huntington Bancshares News

Here are the key news stories impacting Huntington Bancshares this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management emphasizes accelerating organic growth and momentum from the Q4 earnings call (NII growth, strong credit performance). Huntington Bancshares Earnings Call Shows Growth and Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term expansion push: Huntington says it’s opening branches frequently (nearly one every two weeks) while investing in digital capabilities — supports deposit and fee growth expectations. After 160 years, Huntington Bancshares is powering digital growth—by opening a branch almost every 2 weeks, says CFO
• Positive Sentiment: Board maintained the quarterly cash dividend ($0.155/share), signaling capital stability and returning cash to holders. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated Declares Quarterly Cash Dividends On Its Common and Preferred Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Huntington is preparing a debt offering ahead of the Cadence Bank merger — a routine financing step but one that raises focus on integration and balance-sheet funding. Huntington Bancshares Prepares Debt Offering Ahead of Cadence Merger
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts adjusted targets: Piper Sandler raised its PT to $17 but kept an underweight rating; Keefe, Bruyette & Woods trimmed its PT slightly to $19.50 while maintaining market-perform — mixed signals on consensus valuation. Piper Sandler Adjusts Price Target on Huntington Bancshares
• Neutral Sentiment: High-profile endorsement: Jim Cramer praised Huntington on air — can influence short-term retail interest but is not a fundamental driver. Jim Cramer on Huntington Bancshares: “They’re Terrific”
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly miss and cost pressures: Q4 EPS and revenue fell short of estimates and expenses/credit provisions rose year-over-year — the primary near-term headwind and the reason for earlier share weakness. Huntington Stock Falls as Q4 Earnings Lag Estimates, Expenses Rise Y/Y

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.