Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

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

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HWC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 0.6 %

HWC opened at $50.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $51.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.49. The company has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a PE 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $359.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.11 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 18.63% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The company’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.30%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frank E. Bertucci sold 2,053 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 22,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,286,254.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the second quarter worth $31,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the second quarter valued at $43,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 268.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently 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.