Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Price Target Raised to $49.00 at Truist Financial

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) had its target price upped by Truist Financial from $46.00 to $49.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the stock.

HWC has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com raised Hancock Whitney from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $52.00 price target (down from $55.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $52.50.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC opened at $49.87 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.36. Hancock Whitney has a 12-month low of $32.16 and a 12-month high of $49.99.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $354.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.15 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 11.89%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other news, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total value of $39,516.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,843 shares in the company, valued at $2,755,029.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 23,982 shares in the company, valued at $1,094,058.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 108,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,981,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 21,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 24,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 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.