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 to investors on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.25.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

HWC stock traded down $2.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.17. 1,119,213 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 689,071. Hancock Whitney has a 52 week low of $43.90 and a 52 week high of $71.20. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $64.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 1.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greenleaf Trust bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at $208,000. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth about $576,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Barlow Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at about $235,000. Finally, Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,094,000. 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.