Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $75.6250.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. DA Davidson raised 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $61.84 on Wednesday. Hancock Whitney has a 1 year low of $43.90 and a 1 year high of $75.43. The stock has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $81.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.63 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 11.16%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.21%.

Insider Activity

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total value of $358,415.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 33,301 shares in the company, valued at $2,283,449.57. This represents a 13.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vident Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 14,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.