Zacks Research Forecasts Higher Earnings for Hancock Whitney

Key Points

• Zacks Research has raised its Q4 2025 earnings per share estimate for Hancock Whitney to $1.44, reflecting a slight increase from the previous forecast.
• The company reported earnings of $1.37 per share in its last quarterly update, which exceeded analyst expectations by $0.01 and signaled growth from the prior year's $1.31 per share.
• Hancock Whitney recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45, representing a 3.0% yield and a payout ratio of 33.15%.

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q4 2025 earnings per share estimates for Hancock Whitney in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, August 20th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $1.44 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.43. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney's current full-year earnings is $5.53 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hancock Whitney's Q1 2026 earnings at $1.41 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.72 EPS.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Hovde Group raised their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.71.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC traded up $3.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $63.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,155,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 668,047. Hancock Whitney has a 12-month low of $43.90 and a 12-month high of $63.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.49.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.01. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 23.28%.The company had revenue of $377.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $375.99 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the second quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 51.1% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 13,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 4,448 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 36.4% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 14,111 shares of the company's stock valued at $810,000 after purchasing an additional 3,769 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 79.2% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 20,584 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 9,099 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the second quarter valued at approximately $324,000. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.15%.

About Hancock Whitney

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.