Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Receives $48.88 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.88.

HWC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Stephens dropped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Truist Financial lowered Hancock Whitney from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 23rd.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC opened at $45.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $43.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.74. Hancock Whitney has a 52 week low of $31.02 and a 52 week high of $49.65.

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

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $158,166.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 35,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,897.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Hancock Whitney news, COO D Shane Loper sold 17,690 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.81, for a total value of $828,068.90. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 71,148 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,330,437.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $158,166.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,897.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 35,225 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,014. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 136.8% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 81.0% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. 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.