Was Jim Cramer Right About These 12 Stocks?

9. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ:HBAN)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 43

Back then, Cramer laid out his bullish thesis on regional banks, especially Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN), which he considered one of the best operators in the sector.

“In the last few weeks, as part of the great broadening of the bull market, we’ve seen some monster runs in the regional banks. Everything from the worst of the bunch to actually the best of breed—Huntington Bancshares, based out of Columbus, Ohio.”

Cramer liked banks that actually lent money, rather than just profiting off deposit spreads, saying:

“I like banks that lend. I like banks that grow.”

He saw Huntington as a bank that was well-managed, had avoided risky commercial real estate, and was expanding into strong growth markets. In a conversation with the company’s CEO, he said the following:

“To me, it sounds like people moving into regional banks are making the right move. You have much better growth than the big guys, with much less risk, and that’s what really matters to me.”

Huntington was a bank to own in his view, as it benefited from a strengthening economy and future rate cuts. The bank’s stock is up by more than 10% since.