Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $75.25.

Several research firms have commented on HWC. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total value of $358,415.39. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 33,301 shares in the company, valued at $2,283,449.57. The trade was a 13.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HWC. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth about $470,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 77.4% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after buying an additional 8,622 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 6,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 7,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 2,862 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of HWC opened at $71.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Hancock Whitney has a 12-month low of $43.90 and a 12-month high of $75.43. The business’s 50 day moving average is $68.21 and its 200 day moving average is $63.30. The company has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 1.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 11.16%. The firm had revenue of $81.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.69%.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

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.