Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Receives $66.71 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corporation has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from seven brokerages, with two hold recommendations and one strong buy recommendation.
• Brokerages have set an average target price of $66.71 for HWC shares, with recent adjustments including Hovde Group raising their target from $65 to $72.
• The company recently announced a quarterly $0.45 dividend, equating to an annual yield of 3.1%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 5th.

Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $66.7143.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $63.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 50.4% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,057,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $160,345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,869 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,089,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,592,000 after buying an additional 235,363 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,027,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,139,000 after acquiring an additional 128,860 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,465,661 shares of the company's stock worth $76,874,000 after acquiring an additional 6,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,335,997 shares of the company's stock worth $69,044,000 after acquiring an additional 14,717 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of HWC stock traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $58.28. 114,526 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 720,027. Hancock Whitney has a fifty-two week low of $43.90 and a fifty-two week high of $62.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 1.11. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $57.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.50.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.01. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 23.28% and a return on equity of 11.21%. The business had revenue of $377.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $375.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.15%.

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.