On Monday, Piper Sandler adjusted its outlook on Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN), a company listed on NASDAQ:HBAN, by increasing the price target to $13.50 from the previous $11.50. The firm maintained its Underweight rating on the stock.
The revised price target comes after Huntington Bancshares reported its second-quarter results, which surpassed the expectations set by Piper Sandler. In light of the company's performance and updated projections, the firm's analyst decided to slightly increase the estimated earnings per share (EPS) for the year 2024 from $1.17 to $1.19.
This change reflects the company's outperformance in the second quarter, although the second half of 2024 estimates remain largely unchanged.
Moreover, the expectations for the year 2025 have also been adjusted, with the estimated EPS rising from $1.28 to $1.31. The new price target of $13.50 is based on these higher EPS estimates along with a general uptick in bank equity valuations. The analyst cited a valuation metric, noting that the bank's equity is now valued at approximately 10 times the estimated 2025 earnings, compared to the previous valuation of around 9 times.
The update follows Huntington Bancshares' recent quarterly financial results, which have led Piper Sandler to reassess the bank's stock value. The firm's commentary indicates that the adjustments in the price target reflect not only the bank's past performance but also its potential future earnings capacity.
In other recent news, Huntington Bancshares has been the focus of several analyst evaluations and strategic developments. RBC Capital has maintained an Outperform rating on Huntington Bancshares and increased the price target to $17, citing solid second-quarter results and initiatives that are driving growth. Moreover, the bank's decision to internalize its merchant-acquiring business was highlighted, which is expected to enhance profitability.
Additionally, UBS reduced its price target for Huntington Bancshares to $15, while maintaining a Buy rating. The firm also revised its 2024 and 2025 earnings estimates for the bank, reflecting recent economic developments.
JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) upgraded Huntington Bancshares from Neutral to Overweight, raising its price target to $18.00, reflecting confidence in the bank's growth potential.
The bank also reported notable loan and deposit growth during its first-quarter earnings call and expects an acceleration in loan growth, net interest income, and earnings expansion for 2024 and 2025.
Finally, Huntington Bancshares announced the appointment of Angie Klett as President of Huntington Insurance, Inc., and plans to launch two new deposit verticals in 2024.
InvestingPro Insights
Following Piper Sandler's revised outlook on Huntington Bancshares, real-time data from InvestingPro provides additional context for investors. With a market capitalization of $21.58 billion and a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 14.02, Huntington Bancshares appears to be trading at a reasonable valuation in the banking sector. The company's P/E ratio has slightly decreased to 13.65 when looking at the last twelve months as of Q2 2024, indicating a potentially more attractive valuation for investors.
InvestingPro Tips suggest that while analysts have revised their earnings downwards for the upcoming period, Huntington Bancshares has shown a significant return over the last week and month, with price total returns of 8.23% and 17.66%, respectively. Additionally, the bank has demonstrated a commitment to shareholder returns, maintaining dividend payments for 54 consecutive years, currently yielding 4.17%. These factors, combined with the fact that the stock is trading near its 52-week high, may offer insights into the company's robust financial health and investor confidence.
For investors interested in a deeper analysis, there are additional InvestingPro Tips available, which can be found at https://www.investing.com/pro/HBAN. To enhance your investment research, use the coupon code PRONEWS24 to get up to 10% off a yearly Pro and a yearly or biyearly Pro+ subscription. There are 5 more tips waiting to help you make more informed decisions on InvestingPro.
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