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

Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $75.6250.

HWC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 5.9%

HWC stock opened at $65.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.64. Hancock Whitney has a 52 week low of $43.90 and a 52 week high of $75.43.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $81.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.63 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 24.05%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.21%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total transaction of $358,415.39. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 33,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,283,449.57. This trade represents a 13.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 44.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 283,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,764,000 after buying an additional 87,227 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,169,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 83.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 850,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,827,000 after acquiring an additional 385,784 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $544,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 126,754.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 457,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,671,000 after acquiring an additional 457,583 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.