Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Receives $60.56 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.56.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $62.00 target price (down previously from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com raised Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

NASDAQ:HWC traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $52.89. 45,925 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 580,768. Hancock Whitney has a 52 week low of $43.60 and a 52 week high of $62.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 0.99. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $51.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.11.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $367.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $368.12 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Hancock Whitney's payout ratio is presently 33.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 838 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total value of $40,299.42. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,983.71. This represents a 3.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 21.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 551,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,227,000 after purchasing an additional 96,092 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth $1,096,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,228,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,235,000 after buying an additional 73,875 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 135.4% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 12,981 shares of the company's stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 7,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $696,000. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.