Morgan Joseph Lowers Estimates On Huntington Bancshares (HBAN)

Morgan Joseph lowered its earnings estimates on Huntington Bancshares Inc.

, as the bank holding company recently released earnings. It continues to rate shares at Underperform. In a note to clients, Morgan Joseph writes, "We are fine tuning our 2010 earnings per share estimate from $0.25 to $0.24. Revenue is expected to be damped by implementation of Reg E (overdrafts) and Huntington's own more customer friendly initiatives toward overdrafts. Services charges on deposit accounts were 18.5% lower from a year ago. Noninterest expense could continue to grow as management expands business opportunities. The number of employees has risen 10.6% from a year ago." It goes on to say, "The next challenge is for management's latest investment in people/products to begin falling to the bottom line. There is also the issue of still having to pay back TARP funding to Treasury. A meaningful common dividend cannot be paid until this money is returned." Shares of HBAN gained 7 cents today to close at $5.69, a gain of 1.25%.