Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on HWC. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $84.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Hovde Group lowered shares of Hancock Whitney from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, June 12th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Hancock Whitney from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.25.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC opened at $75.66 on Tuesday. Hancock Whitney has a 12-month low of $54.05 and a 12-month high of $76.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.52.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $393.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $400.01 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.34% and a return on equity of 11.20%. Hancock Whitney’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $28,005.72. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,683,432.56. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 70.9% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 67.6% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently 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.