Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Receives $80.50 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $83.5556.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens decreased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Hovde Group cut shares of Hancock Whitney from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total value of $28,005.72. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,683,432.56. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 70.9% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.9%

HWC opened at $75.68 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.74. Hancock Whitney has a 52 week low of $54.05 and a 52 week high of $79.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 0.95.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.55. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 21.81%.The firm had revenue of $403.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.07%.

About Hancock Whitney

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.