Zacks Research Lowers Earnings Estimates for Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q3 2026 earnings per share estimates for Hancock Whitney in a research report issued on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $1.62 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.63. Zacks Research has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney’s current full-year earnings is $6.45 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hancock Whitney’s Q4 2026 earnings at $1.73 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $6.42 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.72 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.77 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.83 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $7.22 EPS.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $403.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $398.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on HWC. Benchmark increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Hovde Group lowered 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.78.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $79.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.68. Hancock Whitney has a 1 year low of $54.05 and a 1 year high of $79.36.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.22%.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 22,694 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total transaction of $1,728,828.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,364,108.80. The trade was a 33.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $28,005.72. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,683,432.56. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth $6,070,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 1st quarter valued at $1,714,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,790,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,652,000 after purchasing an additional 21,655 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 139.9% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 47,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,047,000 after buying an additional 27,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 16.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 807,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,354,000 after buying an additional 114,029 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.