Brokerages Set Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Price Target at $83.78

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.7778.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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. Barclays upped 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. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted 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.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, CFO Michael Achary sold 22,694 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total value of $1,728,828.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,364,108.80. This trade represents a 33.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Emory L. Mayfield, Jr. sold 4,990 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.40, for a total value of $381,236.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,166. The trade was a 24.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the second quarter valued at $814,839,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 7,157.9% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,189,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,198,000 after purchasing an additional 7,090,427 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 0.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,790,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,652,000 after purchasing an additional 21,655 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,521,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,935,000 after purchasing an additional 126,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth $80,246,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC stock opened at $75.25 on Wednesday. Hancock Whitney has a fifty-two week low of $54.05 and a fifty-two week high of $80.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $76.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.94.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.55. The business had revenue of $403.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 39.22%.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

Hancock Whitney Corporation is a financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi, and the parent company of Hancock Whitney Bank. The bank provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions across the Gulf South.

Its offerings include personal and business deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential and commercial real estate financing, treasury management, online and mobile banking, investment services and wealth management.