Citigroup Cuts Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Price Target to $86.00

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) had its price objective trimmed by Citigroup from $87.00 to $86.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Hancock Whitney from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Benchmark lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on Hancock Whitney from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.22.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 1.1%

HWC opened at $73.18 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 0.94. Hancock Whitney has a 1-year low of $54.05 and a 1-year high of $80.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $76.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.99.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The company had revenue of $403.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. Hancock Whitney’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, CFO Michael Achary sold 22,694 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total transaction of $1,728,828.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,364,108.80. The trade was a 33.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Emory L. Mayfield, Jr. sold 4,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.40, for a total transaction of $381,236.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,189,166. The trade was a 24.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Emerald Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the second quarter worth $3,085,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at $6,070,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 807,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,354,000 after buying an additional 114,029 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth $8,685,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 139.9% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 47,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,047,000 after acquiring an additional 27,942 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

About Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Corporation is a financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi, and the parent company of Hancock Whitney Bank. The bank provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions across the Gulf South.

Its offerings include personal and business deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential and commercial real estate financing, treasury management, online and mobile banking, investment services and wealth management.