Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Receives $49.75 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.71.

HWC has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 31st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 target price (down previously from $55.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO D Shane Loper sold 17,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.81, for a total transaction of $828,068.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 71,148 shares in the company, valued at $3,330,437.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, COO D Shane Loper sold 17,690 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.81, for a total transaction of $828,068.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 71,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,330,437.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $158,166.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,897.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,183 shares of company stock valued at $1,450,992 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 136.8% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 151.1% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

HWC opened at $44.27 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 1.33. Hancock Whitney has a 12 month low of $31.02 and a 12 month high of $49.65.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 19.07%. The business had revenue of $308.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $355.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 27.97%.

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.