Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Receives $56.89 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $58.00.

Several analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial cut their target price on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total value of $1,069,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,099,305.44. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Carleton Richard Wilkins sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $40,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $810,105. The trade was a 4.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,994 shares of company stock valued at $1,593,710. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HWC. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 22.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 59,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,746,000 after acquiring an additional 10,810 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.5% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 624,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,313 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 268.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 5.5% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $59.56 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $54.82 and its 200 day moving average is $51.16. Hancock Whitney has a twelve month low of $41.19 and a twelve month high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. The business had revenue of $525.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.54 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.87%.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

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.