Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $76.69 and last traded at $76.4760, with a volume of 37702 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $75.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HWC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.50.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 1.4%

The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.19.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.04. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.34% and a return on equity of 11.20%. The company had revenue of $393.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total value of $28,005.72. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,683,432.56. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 8.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 1st quarter valued at about $200,000. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.6% during the first quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,522,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 16.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 807,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,354,000 after buying an additional 114,029 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the first quarter valued at approximately $8,456,000. 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.