Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $83.7778.

A number of research firms have commented on HWC. Barclays lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $75.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $75.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.15. Hancock Whitney has a 52 week low of $54.05 and a 52 week high of $80.13.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55. The company had revenue of $403.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.89 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney will post 6.44 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 Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is 39.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 22,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total transaction of $1,728,828.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,364,108.80. The trade was a 33.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emory L. Mayfield, Jr. sold 4,990 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.40, for a total value of $381,236.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,166. The trade was a 24.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AXQ Capital LP increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 9.5% during the second quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 6,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth $264,000. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth $422,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 272,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,381,000 after acquiring an additional 84,047 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 55.3% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 305,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,821,000 after acquiring an additional 108,723 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

About Hancock Whitney

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.