Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Given New $78.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Hancock Whitney’s price target from $72 to $78 and kept a “market perform” rating, implying about 5.78% upside from the current share price.
• Other analysts remain generally constructive on the stock, with recent target increases from Piper Sandler, Barclays, and DA Davidson; the consensus view is a “Buy” with an average target of $80.50.
• Hancock Whitney recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.52, beating estimates, though revenue missed expectations and declined 19.7% year over year; the stock was trading at $73.74, near its 1-year high of $76.39.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $72.00 to $78.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "market perform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective points to a potential upside of 5.78% from the stock's current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on HWC. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hancock Whitney from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.50.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $73.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $69.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Hancock Whitney has a 1-year low of $54.05 and a 1-year high of $76.39.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $393.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.01 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total value of $28,005.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,683,432.56. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HWC. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at $1,094,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,070,000. Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth about $23,457,000. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth about $576,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the first quarter valued at about $1,520,000. 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.

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