Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

HWC has been the topic of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stephens lowered their target price on Hancock Whitney from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research cut Hancock Whitney from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.78.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

HWC stock opened at $78.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Hancock Whitney has a 12-month low of $54.05 and a 12-month high of $80.13. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.93.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The business had revenue of $403.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $398.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hancock Whitney news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 22,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total transaction of $1,728,828.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,364,108.80. This represents a 33.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $28,005.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,683,432.56. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HWC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter valued at $814,839,000. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth $80,246,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth $57,463,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter worth $55,605,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the second quarter valued at about $52,973,000. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Hancock Whitney

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.