Zacks Research Equities Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates for Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) – Analysts at Zacks Research boosted their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report issued on Monday, October 7th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $5.12 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $5.08. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney’s current full-year earnings is $5.16 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hancock Whitney’s Q3 2025 earnings at $1.24 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.34 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $5.07 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.29 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $1.36 EPS.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $359.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.11 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 18.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on HWC. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Hancock Whitney from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.67.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock opened at $51.00 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $50.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.27. The company has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.26. Hancock Whitney has a one year low of $32.16 and a one year high of $57.78.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is 37.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Frank E. Bertucci sold 2,053 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $117,082.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,286,254.62. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HWC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,226,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,801,000 after acquiring an additional 34,152 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 3.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,980,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,197,000 after purchasing an additional 167,304 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,401,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,015,000 after buying an additional 237,526 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 30.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,069,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,141,000 after acquiring an additional 252,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 20.9% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 780,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,350,000 after acquiring an additional 135,076 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.