Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate HWC a "Moderate Buy" — nine analysts (6 Buy, 2 Hold, 1 Strong Buy) give Hancock Whitney an average 12‑month price target of $76.86.
• HWC beat Q1 EPS expectations ($1.52 vs. $1.48) despite revenue falling ~19.7% year‑over‑year, and the bank declared a $0.50 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.00, ~2.9% yield; ex‑dividend June 5, payable June 15).

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.8571.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HWC shares. DA Davidson upped their price target on Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Hancock Whitney from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,457 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,555,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,472 shares of the company's stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 31.0% during the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,617 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $68.63 on Thursday. Hancock Whitney has a twelve month low of $52.89 and a twelve month high of $75.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $65.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.63. The company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09 and a beta of 0.97.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.04. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.20% and a net margin of 21.34%.The firm had revenue of $393.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.01 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The business's revenue was down 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 6.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.07%.

About Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Corporation NASDAQ: HWC is a regional financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi. The firm was established in April 2019 through the merger of Hancock Holding Company and Whitney Holding Corporation, each of which traced its roots to the late 19th century. This combination created one of the largest bank holding companies in the Gulf South region, with a network of branches serving both urban and rural communities.

The company's core business activities include commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.

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