Analysts Set Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Target Price at $83.78

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $83.7778.

HWC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Hovde Group downgraded 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 note on Friday, June 12th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock opened at $78.84 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46 and a beta of 0.95. Hancock Whitney has a twelve month low of $54.05 and a twelve month high of $80.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $75.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.93.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.22%.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amundi purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,710,000 after buying an additional 2,255 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 22.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 4.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 287,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,078,000 after acquiring an additional 11,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 951.9% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 123,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,494,000 after acquiring an additional 112,042 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

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.