Hancock Whitney’s (HWC) “Equal Weight” Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens restated their equal weight rating on shares of Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $50.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised Hancock Whitney from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the company from $48.00 to $50.00 in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com lowered Hancock Whitney from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Sunday, March 31st. Raymond James increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $50.71.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

HWC stock opened at $44.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.58 and a 200-day moving average of $42.49. Hancock Whitney has a 12-month low of $31.02 and a 12-month high of $49.65.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $308.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $355.51 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 19.07%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 27.97%.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,897.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO D Shane Loper sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.81, for a total value of $828,068.90. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 71,148 shares in the company, valued at $3,330,437.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 35,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,897.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,183 shares of company stock valued at $1,450,992 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 13.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,791,000 after buying an additional 96,522 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 4.2% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 122,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,516,000 after purchasing an additional 4,886 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 16.0% during the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,407,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,064,000 after purchasing an additional 194,100 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $38,449,000 after purchasing an additional 14,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 5.8% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 443,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $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 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.