Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Trading Down 4.2% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney's share price dropped 4.2% during mid-day trading, with last trades at $59.92, significantly lower than its previous close of $62.53.
• Analysts are generally optimistic, with several upgrading target prices; DA Davidson and Citigroup increased theirs to $67.00 and $74.00, respectively, while the consensus target price stands at $69.86.
• The company recently reported earnings of $1.49 per share, exceeding expectations, along with a quarterly dividend of $0.45, yielding approximately 3.0%.

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 4.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $59.95 and last traded at $59.92. 128,651 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 734,151 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HWC shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.86.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 5.1%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $62.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 1.11.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $0.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.32 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 23.28%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HWC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter worth about $60,224,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 50.4% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,057,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $160,345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,869 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the first quarter worth approximately $43,019,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the first quarter worth about $38,163,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 83.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 850,639 shares of the company's stock worth $48,827,000 after purchasing an additional 385,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company's stock.

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.

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