Barclays Boosts Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Price Target to $82.00

Key Points

• Barclays raised Hancock Whitney’s price target to $82 from $80 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying 6.49% upside from the stock’s $77 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $83.78; targets from other firms range as high as $87.
• Hancock Whitney met quarterly EPS expectations at $1.55 and exceeded revenue estimates with $403.57 million, while revenue increased 6.9% year over year.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Barclays from $80.00 to $82.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price objective suggests a potential upside of 6.49% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on HWC. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Hancock Whitney from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.78.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

NASDAQ HWC opened at $77.00 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10 and a beta of 0.95. Hancock Whitney has a 1 year low of $54.05 and a 1 year high of $79.36. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $73.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.55. The business had revenue of $403.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $398.89 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The company's revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $28,005.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,683,432.56. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 22,694 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total value of $1,728,828.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,364,108.80. This represents a 33.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HWC. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 70.9% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 67.6% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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