Analysts Set Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Price Target at $56.78

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.67.

HWC has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Hancock Whitney from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In related news, Director Frank E. Bertucci sold 2,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $117,082.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,286,254.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clifford Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 12.2% in the second quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter worth about $813,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 3,865 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 47.8% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 137,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,554,000 after acquiring an additional 44,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 20.9% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 780,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,350,000 after purchasing an additional 135,076 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $51.43 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $51.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99 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 (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.11. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 18.63%. The business had revenue of $359.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $359.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is 37.30%.

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.