Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $61.13 and last traded at $60.62, with a volume of 69474 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on HWC shares. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.89.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.2 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $51.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 1.25.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $525.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.54 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 35.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,099,305.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $39,981.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,518 shares in the company, valued at $1,232,343.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total value of $1,069,920.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,099,305.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 27,994 shares of company stock valued at $1,593,710. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HWC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 96.6% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 51,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after purchasing an additional 25,241 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,226,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,801,000 after buying an additional 34,152 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted 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 acquiring an additional 26,705 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 59,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,746,000 after buying an additional 10,810 shares during the period. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 252,473 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.