DA Davidson Comments on Hancock Whitney Co.’s FY2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:HWC)

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) – Equities researchers at DA Davidson boosted their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Hancock Whitney in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 17th. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner now expects that the company will earn $4.95 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $4.90. DA Davidson currently has a “Buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney’s current full-year earnings is $4.80 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Hancock Whitney’s FY2025 earnings at $5.21 EPS.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $308.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $355.51 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 19.07%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 target price (down from $55.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.75.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock opened at $42.66 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 1.33. Hancock Whitney has a twelve month low of $31.02 and a twelve month high of $49.65.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 12,107,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,688,000 after acquiring an additional 42,241 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,192,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,670,000 after buying an additional 95,432 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,749,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,786,000 after buying an additional 249,944 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 15.0% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,567,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,218,000 after buying an additional 596,516 shares during the period. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.5% in the second quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 4,264,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,030,000 after buying an additional 21,842 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 4,042 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total transaction of $183,021.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 40,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,811,924.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 4,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total transaction of $183,021.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 40,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,811,924.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $158,166.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,897.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,225 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,014. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 27.97%.

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.