Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Stock

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) had its target price increased by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $60.00 to $70.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price points to a potential upside of 18.74% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. 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 research note on Friday, September 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.00.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

NASDAQ HWC traded up $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.95. 92,265 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 505,325. The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.27. Hancock Whitney has a fifty-two week low of $41.19 and a fifty-two week high of $62.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.10. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $525.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.54 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. Research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In related news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were 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 $2,857,669. This represents a 13.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,099,305.44. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,994 shares of company stock worth $1,593,710 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 268.9% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.