Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Given Overweight Rating at Stephens

Stephens reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $68.00 target price on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.00.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ HWC opened at $55.27 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 1.27. Hancock Whitney has a 12 month low of $41.19 and a 12 month high of $62.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.89 and a 200-day moving average of $52.74. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $525.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.54 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 11.47%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is 35.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other news, Director Carleton Richard Wilkins sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $810,105. The trade was a 4.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.55, for a total transaction of $443,049.05. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 54,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,669. This trade represents a 13.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,994 shares of company stock worth $1,593,710. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $844,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 66.7% in 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 during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the third quarter valued at $2,605,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the third quarter valued at about $508,000. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

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.