Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Given New $47.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) had its price target trimmed by Jefferies Financial Group from $48.00 to $47.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the stock.

HWC has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Stephens restated an equal weight rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Hancock Whitney from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their price target for the company from $50.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, May 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $52.13.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

HWC stock opened at $46.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Hancock Whitney has a 52-week low of $32.16 and a 52-week high of $49.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.38.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.10. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 19.07%. The firm had revenue of $354.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.15 million. Equities research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 4.9 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 37.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of Hancock Whitney 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,843 shares in the company, valued at $2,755,029.26. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total value of $59,306.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,094,058.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 58,843 shares in the company, valued at $2,755,029.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWC. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 72.6% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 151,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,353,000 after buying an additional 63,641 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 710,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,511,000 after purchasing an additional 25,215 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,791,000 after purchasing an additional 96,522 shares during the period. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,045,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 6,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

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.