Earnings Preview: Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) is expected to report Q3 earnings before market open Thursday, October 16, with a conference call scheduled for 1:00 pm.

Guidance

Analysts are looking for EPS of 24c on revenue of $636.87M. The consensus range for EPS is 9c to 30c, while the consensus range for revenue is $613.68M to $650.9M, according to First Call.

Analyst Views

Huntington was one of 13 banks upgraded by Citigroup Tuesday in response to the government's new bank bailout plan. Citigroup raised the bank to Buy from Hold, as the firm believes that Huntington and some of its peers will benefit from easier access to affordable capital. However, the firm noted that it still predicts that the bank will report results that fall below analysts' consensus estimates. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal recently named the bank as a possible acquisition target for Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS), which are reportedly looking to boost their deposit bases.