Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Releases Earnings Results

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.12, Briefing.com reports. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 2.8 %

HWC stock traded up $1.64 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $60.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 795,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 693,687. Hancock Whitney has a 12 month low of $41.19 and a 12 month high of $62.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $57.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.62. The company has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 1.27.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 35.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $39,981.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,232,343.20. This represents a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total value of $1,069,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 254,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,099,305.44. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HWC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.63.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

Hancock Whitney Corporation operates as the financial holding company for Hancock Whitney Bank that provides traditional and online banking services to commercial, small business, and retail customers. It offers various transaction and savings deposit products consisting of brokered deposits, time deposits, and money market accounts; treasury management services, secured and unsecured loan products including revolving credit facilities, and letters of credit and similar financial guarantees; and trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations, and individuals, and investment advisory and brokerage products.