Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Price Target Raised to $50.00

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) had its price target lifted by Truist Financial from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on HWC. StockNews.com downgraded Hancock Whitney from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Sunday. DA Davidson restated a buy rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $48.88.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of HWC stock traded down $1.13 on Monday, reaching $44.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 573,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 500,781. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Hancock Whitney has a 12-month low of $31.02 and a 12-month high of $49.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $43.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.88.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 20.57%. The company had revenue of $308.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $355.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is 26.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 4,042 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total transaction of $183,021.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 40,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,811,924.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 4,042 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total transaction of $183,021.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 40,016 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,811,924.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $158,166.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 35,285 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,897.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,225 shares of company stock worth $1,634,014. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWC. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 1st quarter worth about $203,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 32,911 shares of the company's stock worth $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,980 shares of the company's stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 1st quarter worth about $783,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 31,821 shares of the company's stock worth $1,659,000 after purchasing an additional 3,034 shares during the period. 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.