Hancock Whitney Co. to Post FY2024 Earnings of $4.78 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts (NASDAQ:HWC)

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research cut their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Hancock Whitney in a note issued to investors on Monday, June 24th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the company will post earnings of $4.78 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $4.79. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney’s current full-year earnings is $4.88 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hancock Whitney’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.18 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on HWC. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $52.00 price objective (down previously from $55.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.88.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $45.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $46.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Hancock Whitney has a 52-week low of $32.16 and a 52-week high of $49.65.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.10. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The company had revenue of $354.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $353.15 million.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 37.30%.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In other news, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total value of $39,516.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,755,029.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total transaction of $59,306.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,094,058.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total transaction of $39,516.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,843 shares in the company, valued at $2,755,029.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 108,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,981,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 2.4% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 21,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 2.5% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 24,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

Hancock Whitney Corporation operates as the financial holding company for Hancock Whitney Bank that provides traditional and online banking services to commercial, small business, and retail customers. It offers various transaction and savings deposit products consisting of brokered deposits, time deposits, and money market accounts; treasury management services, secured and unsecured loan products including revolving credit facilities, and letters of credit and similar financial guarantees; and trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations, and individuals, and investment advisory and brokerage products.