Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Downgraded to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Hancock Whitney from “hold” to “sell”, making it the latest analyst note to turn cautious on the regional bank.
• Despite that downgrade, the broader analyst view remains relatively positive: Hancock Whitney still carries an average “Moderate Buy” rating with a consensus price target of $76.86.
• The company recently beat quarterly EPS estimates at $1.52 versus $1.48 expected, though revenue came in slightly below forecasts and was down 19.7% year over year.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on HWC. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of 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 cut shares of Hancock Whitney from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.86.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $68.76 on Friday. Hancock Whitney has a 1-year low of $52.89 and a 1-year high of $75.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 0.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,790,954 shares of the company's stock worth $304,652,000 after purchasing an additional 21,655 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,521,593 shares of the company's stock worth $287,935,000 after buying an additional 126,367 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 10.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,878,121 shares of the company's stock worth $117,589,000 after buying an additional 182,845 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth $80,246,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 920,152 shares of the company's stock worth $58,595,000 after buying an additional 162,482 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.