Piper Sandler Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Stock

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $78.00 to $80.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.57% from the company’s current price.

HWC has been the subject of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Zacks Research upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.86.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 0.6%

HWC stock opened at $68.05 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Hancock Whitney has a one year low of $50.40 and a one year high of $75.43. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.19.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.04. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 11.16%. The company had revenue of $393.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $400.01 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total transaction of $358,415.39. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,283,449.57. The trade was a 13.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HWC. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 0.6% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,555,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 31.0% during the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.