Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) PT Raised at KBW as 'Strong Growth Engine Continues to Perform'

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Christopher McGratty raised the price target on Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN) to $20.00 (from $19.00) while maintaining a Market Perform rating.

The analyst commented: "Strong Growth Engine Continues to Perform; HBAN has continued to see strong business momentum, including above-peer loan/deposit growth, and the soon-to-be completed VBTX acquisition provides additional scale in TX and brings additional fuel to the expansion effort. We are raising our estimates by 3% and our PT to $20, and while we remain Market Perform, we do see a path toward a positive re-rating on continued fundamental outperformance and further M&A discipline.

HBAN is executing well on an abovepeer growth story with relatively lower/moderate risk tolerance, which together should support a premium valuation. Above-peer ROTCE (+150bps past decade) supports a view that deals aren't needed, though the pending completion of the VBTX deal (Building TX Scale with VBTX Deal; Initial Thoughts) illustrates the opportunistic nature of HBAN's growth strategy. We remain Market Perform, though see a path toward a positive re-rating on continued fundamental outperformance and further M&A discipline."

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