DA Davidson Predicts Hancock Whitney Q1 Earnings

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) – Analysts at DA Davidson issued their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner anticipates that the company will post earnings of $1.24 per share for the quarter. DA Davidson currently has a “Buy” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney’s current full-year earnings is $5.16 per share.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.26 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on HWC. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $59.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $57.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.81. Hancock Whitney has a one year low of $41.19 and a one year high of $62.40. The firm has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 1.27.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the third quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 170.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

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.