Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.63.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $62.86 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 1.05. Hancock Whitney has a 1-year low of $43.90 and a 1-year high of $75.43. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 11.16%. The firm had revenue of $81.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total value of $358,415.39. Following the sale, the insider owned 33,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,283,449.57. The trade was a 13.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth $311,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at $473,000. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth $470,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 77.4% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,259,000 after buying an additional 8,622 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.