Hancock Whitney Co. to Post FY2024 Earnings of $4.78 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts (NASDAQ:HWC)

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) – Zacks Research dropped their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Hancock Whitney in a note issued to investors on Monday, June 24th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $4.78 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $4.79. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney’s current full-year earnings is $4.88 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hancock Whitney’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.18 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on HWC. StockNews.com raised Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Hancock Whitney from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $50.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, May 31st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $52.00 target price (down previously from $55.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.88.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock opened at $45.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 1.28. Hancock Whitney has a 52-week low of $32.16 and a 52-week high of $49.65. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.34.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.10. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 19.07%. The business had revenue of $354.02 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $353.15 million.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 42.8% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 68,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,519,000 after acquiring an additional 20,406 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 16.7% during the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 8,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 13.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,791,000 after acquiring an additional 96,522 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 7.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,184,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,822,000 after acquiring an additional 142,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 96.5% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 28,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 14,211 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total value of $59,306.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,094,058.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total value of $59,306.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,094,058.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total value of $39,516.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,755,029.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 37.30%.

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.