Zacks Research Weighs in on Hancock Whitney Q1 Earnings

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Hancock Whitney in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $1.41 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.40. Zacks Research currently has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney’s current full-year earnings is $5.53 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hancock Whitney’s Q1 2027 earnings at $1.58 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.62 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $6.47 EPS.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $81.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.63 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 11.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.40 EPS.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.25.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $71.41 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Hancock Whitney has a twelve month low of $43.90 and a twelve month high of $75.43. The company has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 1.05.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 929.5% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 453 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total transaction of $358,415.39. Following the sale, the insider owned 33,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,283,449.57. The trade was a 13.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 35.21%.

Hancock Whitney News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Hancock Whitney this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple near? and mid?term EPS forecasts for HWC (Q2–Q4 2026, Q2 & Q4 2027 and FY2026/FY2028), bumped FY2026 to $6.04 from $5.81 and maintained a “Strong?Buy” rating — a clear positive catalyst for forward earnings expectations. Zacks research upgrades
• Neutral Sentiment: Short?interest reports for early February show “0” shares and NaN changes (days?to?cover = 0.0), indicating a likely data/reporting error rather than a meaningful change in short positioning — so no clear bearish pressure from shorts based on these filings. Short interest data

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.