Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Receives $75.25 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $75.25.

HWC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total transaction of $358,415.39. Following the transaction, the insider owned 33,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,283,449.57. This trade represents a 13.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HWC. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 929.5% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 4.6%

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $67.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $68.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 1.05. Hancock Whitney has a 1 year low of $43.90 and a 1 year high of $75.43.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $81.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.63 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 11.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 31.69%.

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.