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Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (HBAN) operates as the bank holding company for The Huntington National Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage banking services in the United States. Valued at a market cap of $23.1 billion, the company offers various financial products and services including deposits, lending, payments, mortgage banking, dealer financing, investment management, trust, brokerage, and insurance.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as “large-cap” stocks and HBAN fits right into that category with its market cap exceeding this threshold. The company distinguishes itself as one of the largest banks in the United States and a major originator of Small Business Administration (SBA) loans.
HBAN is currently trading 13.7% below its 52-week high of $18.44, reached on Nov. 25. Shares of this bank have increased 7.3% over the past three months, outperforming the broader Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLF) 4.4% gain during the same time frame.
However, in the longer term, HBAN has gained 27.6% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming XLF’s 29.1% returns. Shares of HBAN are up 25.1%, on a YTD basis, slightly lagging behind XLF’s 26.7% gains over the same time frame.
To confirm its recent bearish trend, HBAN has been trading below its 50-day moving average since mid-December, however, it has remained above its 200-day moving average since the past year.
On Oct. 7, HBAN released its better-than-expected Q3 earnings results and its shares marginally increased. The company’s earnings fell 5.7% year-over-year to $0.33 per share, but surpassed the forecasted figure by 10%, while its revenue net of interest expense of $1.89 billion, surpassed the consensus estimates of $1.86 billion.
Looking at other metrics, HBAN’s net interest income declined 1% annually to $39 million and its noninterest income climbed 3% yearly to $523 million. Average total loans and leases increased 3% from the year-ago quarter, while average total deposits climbed 6%.
On Nov. 6, shares of HBAN skyrocketed 12.7% primarily due to a wave of optimism following Donald Trump's election and hopes of potential financial deregulation and a more lenient regulatory environment.
HBAN has outperformed its rival, KeyCorp (KEY) which gained 20.2% over the past 52 weeks and 17.5% on a YTD basis.
Looking at HBAN’s recent outperformance, analysts remain moderately optimistic about its prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the 19 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $18.47 suggests a modest 14.8% premium to its current levels.
