Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $71.1250.

A number of research firms have recently commented on HWC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Monday. Barclays began coverage on Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 9,894 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.86, for a total transaction of $542,784.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,057,512.38. This represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the second quarter worth $60,224,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 134.3% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 909,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,941,000 after purchasing an additional 521,261 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 126,754.3% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 457,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,671,000 after purchasing an additional 457,583 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 83.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 850,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,827,000 after buying an additional 385,784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter valued at about $23,457,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

HWC opened at $63.68 on Friday. Hancock Whitney has a 52-week low of $43.90 and a 52-week high of $67.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.63. The company has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $175.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.32 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 23.99%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 32.20%.

About Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ: HWC) is a regional financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi. The firm was established in April 2019 through the merger of Hancock Holding Company and Whitney Holding Corporation, each of which traced its roots to the late 19th century. This combination created one of the largest bank holding companies in the Gulf South region, with a network of branches serving both urban and rural communities.

The company’s core business activities include commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.