Autonomous Res Downgrades Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) to Hold

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) was downgraded by Autonomous Res from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on HWC. Citigroup upped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Zacks Research downgraded Hancock Whitney from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings cut Hancock Whitney from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Hovde Group downgraded Hancock Whitney from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, June 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.25.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $75.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 0.94. Hancock Whitney has a 1-year low of $54.05 and a 1-year high of $76.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $393.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $400.01 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.34% and a return on equity of 11.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total value of $28,005.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,683,432.56. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 70.9% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

About Hancock Whitney

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.