Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corporation has received an average recommendation of "Buy" from seven brokerages, with one hold, five buy, and one strong buy ratings.
• Hedge funds and institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Hancock Whitney, with True Wealth Design LLC raising its position by 929.5% in the second quarter.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.9%.

Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Buy" by the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $70.00.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company 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 Monday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 929.5% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 453 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 554.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 707 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the first quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 6,107.7% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 807 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $62.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Hancock Whitney has a 12-month low of $43.90 and a 12-month high of $64.66. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $61.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.36.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $377.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $375.99 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 23.28%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. 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.

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