FY2024 EPS Estimates for Hancock Whitney Boosted by Analyst

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) – Equities research analysts at DA Davidson increased their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $5.25 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $5.24. DA Davidson has a “Buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney’s current full-year earnings is $5.19 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Hancock Whitney’s FY2025 earnings at $5.32 EPS.

Several other research firms have also commented on HWC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens upgraded Hancock Whitney from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.00.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of HWC opened at $54.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.02. Hancock Whitney has a twelve month low of $41.19 and a twelve month high of $62.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $363.54 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total transaction of $1,069,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 254,026 shares in the company, valued at $15,099,305.44. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $39,981.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,518 shares in the company, valued at $1,232,343.20. The trade was a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,994 shares of company stock worth $1,593,710 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter worth $844,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 66.7% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 33,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 13,243 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth about $2,605,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 35.4% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 102,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,884,000 after purchasing an additional 26,705 shares during the period. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $508,000. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.