Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.5556.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Hancock Whitney from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock opened at $75.46 on Tuesday. Hancock Whitney has a 12-month low of $54.05 and a 12-month high of $79.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $72.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.87.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.55. The company had revenue of $403.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.89 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 21.81%.Hancock Whitney’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total value of $28,005.72. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,683,432.56. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth $80,246,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,463,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 18,614.2% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 535,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,071,000 after acquiring an additional 532,180 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 134.3% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 909,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,941,000 after purchasing an additional 521,261 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the first quarter valued at $23,071,000. 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.