Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Raymond James Financial Analyst Says

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Raymond James Financial from $62.00 to $68.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 12.88% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on HWC. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Hancock Whitney from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.71.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $60.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $56.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 1.05. Hancock Whitney has a 12-month low of $43.90 and a 12-month high of $62.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $377.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $375.99 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 23.28% and a return on equity of 11.21%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total value of $40,299.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,019 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,983.71. This represents a 3.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWC. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,096,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,517,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 23,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 4,299 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 169,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,291,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at about $444,000. 81.22% of the stock is 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.