Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Given New $72.00 Price Target at Hovde Group

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Hovde Group from $65.00 to $72.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Hovde Group's price objective suggests a potential upside of 19.52% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on HWC. Raymond James Financial restated 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. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Hancock Whitney from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.71.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 1.4%

HWC traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,163,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 634,879. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $56.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.10. Hancock Whitney has a 52 week low of $43.90 and a 52 week high of $62.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.01. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.33% and a net margin of 23.28%. The company had revenue of $377.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $375.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 838 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total transaction of $40,299.42. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,983.71. This represents a 3.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 554.6% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 707 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the first quarter worth about $41,000. Amundi purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the first quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 1,132.1% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 998 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.