Zacks Research Comments on Hancock Whitney Co.’s FY2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:HWC)

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research upped their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Hancock Whitney in a research note issued on Monday, August 5th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the company will post earnings of $5.03 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $4.78. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney’s current full-year earnings is $5.10 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hancock Whitney’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.22 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $5.08 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on HWC. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Hovde Group upped their price target on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.78.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC stock opened at $48.71 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business has a 50 day moving average of $48.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.17. Hancock Whitney has a 52 week low of $32.16 and a 52 week high of $57.78. The company has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 1.29.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $359.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.11 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 18.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frank E. Bertucci sold 2,053 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were 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 directly owns 22,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,286,254.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HWC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth $46,846,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 707.2% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 576,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,563,000 after purchasing an additional 504,873 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,749,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,786,000 after purchasing an additional 249,944 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,401,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,015,000 after acquiring an additional 237,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 60.6% during the 1st quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 357,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,454,000 after acquiring an additional 134,800 shares during 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.