Brokerages Set Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Price Target at $75.25

Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $75.25.

HWC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $69.74 on Tuesday. Hancock Whitney has a 1-year low of $43.90 and a 1-year high of $71.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $65.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

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

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.21%.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In other 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 sale, the insider directly owned 33,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,283,449.57. The trade was a 13.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $410,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 145,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,359,000 after acquiring an additional 4,873 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 13,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 83.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 850,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,827,000 after acquiring an additional 385,784 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney during the second quarter valued at $544,000. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.