DA Davidson Analysts Cut Earnings Estimates for Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) – Research analysts at DA Davidson dropped their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, October 3rd. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner now expects that the company will post earnings of $5.16 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $5.23. DA Davidson has a “Buy” rating and a $63.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney’s current full-year earnings is $5.16 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Hancock Whitney’s FY2025 earnings at $5.20 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Hovde Group increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.67.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC stock opened at $50.12 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.19. Hancock Whitney has a 12 month low of $32.16 and a 12 month high of $57.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 1.26.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.11. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 18.63%. The company had revenue of $359.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. Hancock Whitney’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.30%.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In other news, Director Frank E. Bertucci sold 2,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $117,082.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,286,254.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,226,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,801,000 after acquiring an additional 34,152 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,980,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,197,000 after purchasing an additional 167,304 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,401,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,015,000 after buying an additional 237,526 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 30.9% during the second quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,069,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,141,000 after buying an additional 252,473 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 20.9% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 780,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,350,000 after buying an additional 135,076 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Corporation operates as the financial holding company for Hancock Whitney Bank that provides traditional and online banking services to commercial, small business, and retail customers. It offers various transaction and savings deposit products consisting of brokered deposits, time deposits, and money market accounts; treasury management services, secured and unsecured loan products including revolving credit facilities, and letters of credit and similar financial guarantees; and trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations, and individuals, and investment advisory and brokerage products.