Will Expanding Into the Carolinas and New Leadership Change Huntington Bancshares' (HBAN) Narrative?

• Huntington Bancshares recently announced it will open at least four new branches in Winston-Salem by 2027 and expand its Carolinas footprint, alongside appointing Trent Holland as regional president for North Carolina and South Carolina and promoting Heath Campbell to executive managing director of Middle Market Banking in the Southeast.
• This expansion marks a significant push into high-growth markets and introduces fresh leadership to drive new business and deepen community relationships throughout the region.
• We'll explore how Huntington's commitment to market expansion in the Carolinas could impact its broader investment narrative and growth prospects.

This technology could replace computers: discover 26 stocks that are working to make quantum computing a reality.

Huntington Bancshares Investment Narrative Recap

To own shares in Huntington Bancshares, you need to believe the company can deliver above-market growth from expanding in fast-growing regions like the Carolinas, while managing the risks of integrating new markets and controlling costs. The recent southeastern expansion and new leadership appointments signal a focused push into new geographies, but do not fundamentally shift the substantial near-term catalyst, accelerated earnings and revenue growth linked to recent acquisitions and branch openings, or the biggest immediate risk, which remains overexpansion and integration challenges.

The announcement of at least four new branches in Winston-Salem by 2027 stands out as directly connected to Huntington’s campaign to increase its presence in high-growth markets. This expansion follows the completed Veritex merger and signals meaningful investment in organic growth opportunities, supporting broader market-share and earnings growth catalysts for the business.

But despite these moves, investors should watch for signs that integration and operational complexity could slow the benefits of regional expansion…

Read the full narrative on Huntington Bancshares (it's free!)

Huntington Bancshares is projected to reach $8.9 billion in revenue and $2.3 billion in earnings by 2028. This outlook assumes a 7.3% annual revenue growth rate and reflects a $0.3 billion increase in earnings from the current $2.0 billion.

Uncover how Huntington Bancshares' forecasts yield a $19.70 fair value, a 24% upside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Five fair value estimates from the Simply Wall St Community range from US$11.02 to US$31.23 per share, showing a wide spread of independent views. While participants may disagree on upside, Huntington's push into new regional markets raises important questions about balancing growth with operational discipline, explore several perspectives to see the full picture.

Explore 5 other fair value estimates on Huntington Bancshares - why the stock might be worth 31% less than the current price!

Build Your Own Huntington Bancshares Narrative

Disagree with existing narratives? Create your own in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

• A great starting point for your Huntington Bancshares research is our analysis highlighting 5 key rewards that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free Huntington Bancshares research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Huntington Bancshares' overall financial health at a glance.

No Opportunity In Huntington Bancshares?

Our top stock finds are flying under the radar-for now. Get in early:

• Outshine the giants: these 25 early-stage AI stocks could fund your retirement.
• AI is about to change healthcare. These 30 stocks are working on everything from early diagnostics to drug discovery. The best part - they are all under $10b in market cap - there's still time to get in early.
• Rare earth metals are an input to most high-tech devices, military and defence systems and electric vehicles. The global race is on to secure supply of these critical minerals. Beat the pack to uncover the 36 best rare earth metal stocks of the very few that mine this essential strategic resource.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com