Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney has been downgraded from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a bearish outlook on the stock.
• Several brokerage firms have adjusted their price targets for Hancock Whitney, with some showing a positive trend, such as Piper Sandler increasing their target from $70.00 to $72.00.
• The company reported earnings of $1.37 per share for the last quarter, slightly surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.36, alongside revenue of $377.98 million.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on HWC. Stephens reduced their price target on Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Hancock Whitney from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.71.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

HWC opened at $60.86 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $57.07 and its 200 day moving average is $55.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 1.05. Hancock Whitney has a 12-month low of $43.90 and a 12-month high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $377.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $375.99 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 23.28% and a return on equity of 11.21%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 199,532 shares of the company's stock worth $10,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,016 shares of the company's stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $624,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 1st quarter worth approximately $281,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,027,364 shares of the company's stock worth $105,139,000 after acquiring an additional 128,860 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

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.

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