Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.78.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HWC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Hancock Whitney from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Hovde Group lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

HWC stock opened at $50.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 1.26. Hancock Whitney has a 1 year low of $32.16 and a 1 year high of $57.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $51.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.49.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $359.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.11 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 18.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Frank E. Bertucci sold 2,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $117,082.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,286,254.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 108,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,981,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 6,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 21,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently 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.