Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.89.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HWC shares. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Hovde Group increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.1 %

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $52.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Hancock Whitney has a 52-week low of $35.22 and a 52-week high of $57.78. The firm has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 1.25.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $525.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.54 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 11.47%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is 35.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total value of $39,981.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,232,343.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $39,981.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,232,343.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.55, for a total value of $443,049.05. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 54,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,669. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,994 shares of company stock worth $523,790 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 268.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth $63,000. Hedge funds and other 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.