Weiss Ratings Reaffirms Buy (B-) Rating for Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "Buy (B-)" rating for Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC), indicating continued analyst confidence in the stock.
• Multiple analysts have increased their price targets for Hancock Whitney, with estimates now ranging from $67.00 to $74.00, suggesting a positive outlook on the stock's performance.
• Hancock Whitney's stock is currently trading at $62.83, with a market cap of $5.32 billion and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b-)" rating reissued by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on HWC. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.00.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $62.83 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 1.11. Hancock Whitney has a fifty-two week low of $43.90 and a fifty-two week high of $64.66. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $61.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $377.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HWC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the second quarter valued at approximately $60,224,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 50.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,057,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $160,345,000 after buying an additional 1,024,869 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,019,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,163,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 83.0% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 850,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,827,000 after buying an additional 385,784 shares during 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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