Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Price Target Cut to $46.00

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $50.00 to $46.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Truist Financial’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 7.65% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Citigroup upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $48.00 to $50.00 in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, March 31st. Raymond James increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.75.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

HWC opened at $42.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.43. Hancock Whitney has a 1-year low of $31.02 and a 1-year high of $49.65.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. The firm 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,897.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 9,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.15, for a total value of $464,757.55. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,996.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $158,166.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 31,183 shares of company stock valued at $1,450,992. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth about $46,846,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth about $38,143,000. Wasatch Advisors LP acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney in the first quarter worth about $22,744,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 596,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 183.1% in the second quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 442,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,616,000 after purchasing an additional 286,206 shares in the last quarter. 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.