Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.8750.

HWC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC stock opened at $67.95 on Friday. Hancock Whitney has a 12-month low of $43.90 and a 12-month high of $68.84. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 1.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.06. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 23.99%.The firm had revenue of $175.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.32 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 9,894 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.86, for a total transaction of $542,784.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 55,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,057,512.38. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 929.5% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 453 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 67.6% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 6,107.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ: HWC) is a regional financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi. The firm was established in April 2019 through the merger of Hancock Holding Company and Whitney Holding Corporation, each of which traced its roots to the late 19th century. This combination created one of the largest bank holding companies in the Gulf South region, with a network of branches serving both urban and rural communities.

The company’s core business activities include commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.