Brokerages Set Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Target Price at $75.63

Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $75.6250.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HWC. Barclays assumed coverage on Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total transaction of $358,415.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 33,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,283,449.57. This trade represents a 13.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HWC. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 14,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $903,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 0.1%

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $61.29 on Wednesday. Hancock Whitney has a fifty-two week low of $43.90 and a fifty-two week high of $75.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.77.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $81.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.63 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 24.05%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th were given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 35.21%.

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.