Continue reading Closing Bell: The Bernanke Question Weighs (AMD, AAPL, COF, GE, HBAN, SOMX, SYNA)

Closing Bell: The Bernanke Question Weighs (AMD, AAPL, COF, GE, HBAN, SOMX, SYNA) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ohio-based regional bank Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN) reported today a series of drastic measures meant to reduce costs by $100 million in 2009. Huntington will cut 500 jobs, or about 4% of its workforce; freeze salaries at 2008 levels; eliminate executive and incentive awards for 2008; and discontinue the company's 401(k) match contribution.

"It is important that our customers and shareholders know that we are well-positioned to deal with this challenging environment," said Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Steinour in a statement. "Our liquidity position is strong."

Continue reading Struggling Huntington Bancshares cuts jobs, bonuses, and 401(k) match

Struggling Huntington Bancshares cuts jobs, bonuses, and 401(k) match originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In this series, we take a look at the 25 stocks on the S&P 500 Index (SPX) that have turned in the worst performance during the past decade -- what went wrong, and what happens next.

Is it just me, or were Ohio-based regional banks a particular target of the market's wrath during our focus decade? KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) of Cleveland and Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) of Cincinnati have already made cameos on our list of losers -- and I'm not going to give it away, but there's at least one more Buckeye State banker further down the line-up. And, of course, how could we forget Columbus-based Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN)?

What went wrong? At number 14 on our list of SPX laggards, HBAN shed 77% of its value from June 30, 1998 through June 30, 2008. At the end of June 1998, the shares were perched just narrowly atop $25 -- a region that would later switch roles to provide impenetrable resistance from July 2004 through the end of 2006. Now, in the wake of a precipitous price plunge, HBAN is wallowing some 72% below this formerly critical level.

Unlike some other regional banks, HBAN started to feel the pain of subprime-gone-wrong as soon as July 2007. At the time, the bank warned that its second-quarter earnings would fall 11 cents short of analysts' expectations. CEO Thomas Hoaglin admitted, "These results were below our expectations and resulted primarily from difficult and deteriorating residential real estate markets." This admission paved the way for an all-out plunge; from its July 2007 peak to its July 2008 low, the stock shed 81%.

Continue reading Worst 10-year performers: Bad real-estate bets punish Huntington Bancshares

Worst 10-year performers: Bad real-estate bets punish Huntington Bancshares originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Regions Financial (NYSE: RF), a financial holding company with nearly $138 billion of assets in Birmingham, Alabama, is expected to report EPS on January 22. RF closed at $21.16. RF February option implied volatility of 58 is above its 26-week average of 33 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN), a $54 billion regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, closed at $12.43. HBAN is expected to report full Q4 EPS today. HBAN overall option implied volatility of 57 is above its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Options update 1-17-08: Regional banks' volatility Elevated (RF, HBAN) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.