Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Receives $63.29 Average Price Target from Analysts

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 covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $63.43.

HWC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $62.00 target price (down from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $70.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Hancock Whitney from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Friday. Stephens lowered their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HWC. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 554.6% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 707 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Amundi bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 1,132.1% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 998 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 3.7%

NASDAQ:HWC traded down $2.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $59.58. 1,077,418 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 624,652. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $56.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.99. Hancock Whitney has a one year low of $43.90 and a one year high of $62.40. The company has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 1.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 11.43% and a net margin of 23.15%. Equities analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.21%.

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.