Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $67.18 and last traded at $66.59, with a volume of 7468 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $66.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HWC has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on Hancock Whitney from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Barclays initiated coverage on Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $71.88.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 1.05. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $62.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 9,894 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The shares were 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 directly owned 55,733 shares in the company, valued at $3,057,512.38. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

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.