Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.88.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HWC shares. StockNews.com raised Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 23rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Friday, December 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered Hancock Whitney from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Friday, January 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 4,042 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total transaction of $183,021.76. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 40,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,811,924.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 9,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.15, for a total value of $464,757.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,996.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 4,042 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total transaction of $183,021.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 40,016 shares in the company, valued at $1,811,924.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,225 shares of company stock worth $1,634,014 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,791,000 after purchasing an additional 96,522 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.2% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 122,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,516,000 after buying an additional 4,886 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 16.0% in the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,407,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,064,000 after buying an additional 194,100 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 41,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,597,000 after buying an additional 3,013 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,039,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,449,000 after acquiring an additional 14,625 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

HWC opened at $45.73 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.74. Hancock Whitney has a 1 year low of $31.02 and a 1 year high of $49.65. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 20.57% and a return on equity of 12.54%. The business had revenue of $308.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $355.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney will post 4.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.67%.

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.