Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after DA Davidson raised their price target on the stock from $55.00 to $57.00. The stock had previously closed at $42.01, but opened at $43.99. DA Davidson currently has a buy rating on the stock. Hancock Whitney shares last traded at $43.05, with a volume of 120,407 shares traded.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. StockNews.com cut Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 31st. Citigroup raised Hancock Whitney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.75.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In related news, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 9,857 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.15, for a total value of $464,757.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,159 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,996.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $158,166.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 9,857 shares of the company’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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 31,183 shares of company stock worth $1,450,992. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 13.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,791,000 after acquiring an additional 96,522 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.2% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 122,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,516,000 after purchasing an additional 4,886 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 16.0% during the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,407,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,064,000 after purchasing an additional 194,100 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,039,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,449,000 after purchasing an additional 14,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 5.8% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 443,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,388,000 after purchasing an additional 24,290 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.43. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 1.33.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 19.07%. The business had revenue of $308.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $355.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.97%.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

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.