Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.89.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HWC. DA Davidson increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In related news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total value of $39,981.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,232,343.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Carleton Richard Wilkins sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $40,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $810,105. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total value of $39,981.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,232,343.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,994 shares of company stock valued at $523,790. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 707.2% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 576,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,563,000 after purchasing an additional 504,873 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 213.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 735,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,663,000 after acquiring an additional 501,259 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 30.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,069,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,141,000 after acquiring an additional 252,473 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 20.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,401,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,015,000 after purchasing an additional 237,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 3.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,980,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,197,000 after purchasing an additional 167,304 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.1 %

HWC opened at $52.04 on Friday. Hancock Whitney has a 1 year low of $35.22 and a 1 year high of $57.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 1.25.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 11.47%. The company had revenue of $525.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.87%.

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.