Jefferies Financial Group Lowers Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Price Target to $47.00

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) had its price target dropped by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $48.00 to $47.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 0.73% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on HWC. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.13.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $46.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $46.42 and its 200-day moving average is $45.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Hancock Whitney has a 52 week low of $32.16 and a 52 week high of $49.65.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.10. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The business had revenue of $354.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.15 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 4.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,094,058.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total transaction of $59,306.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,094,058.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total transaction of $39,516.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 8,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 13.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,184,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,822,000 after purchasing an additional 142,465 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 96.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Neville Rodie & Shaw Inc. bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth $236,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

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.