Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Stock Rating Cut to “Neutral” at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Piper Sandler currently has $71.50 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $88.00.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Zacks Research downgraded Hancock Whitney from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Hancock Whitney from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $79.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.95.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $65.28 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $72.89 and a 200-day moving average of $71.03. Hancock Whitney has a 1 year low of $55.76 and a 1 year high of $80.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 0.98.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.66. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 20.51% and a return on equity of 11.65%. The business had revenue of $421.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $421.75 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other news, insider Emory L. Mayfield, Jr. sold 4,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.40, for a total value of $381,236.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,189,166. The trade was a 24.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter valued at $814,839,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 0.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,790,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $304,652,000 after purchasing an additional 21,655 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the second quarter valued at $55,605,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the second quarter valued at $52,973,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the second quarter valued at about $40,112,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Hancock Whitney

Here are a few of the latest headlines about HWC:

• Neutral Sentiment: Hancock Whitney agreed to acquire Trustmark in an all-stock transaction valued at about $3.2 billion. The combination could expand the bank’s scale, but investors are assessing whether the potential benefits outweigh dilution and execution risks. Hancock Whitney to buy Trustmark in $3.2B deal
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler cut its rating from Overweight to Neutral and lowered its target from $88 to $71.50, signaling reduced confidence in near-term upside. Piper Sandler ratings
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research reportedly expects lower earnings, while Zacks also highlighted dilution and integration risks tied to the Trustmark transaction. Separately, a law firm is investigating whether shareholders are receiving a fair price in the deal, adding another source of uncertainty. Zacks Research predicts lower earnings Zacks analysis of Trustmark deal risks Shareholder fairness investigation

About Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney is a bank holding company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi, whose principal subsidiary is Hancock Whitney Bank. The company provides personal and business banking services, including deposit accounts, loans, treasury management, mortgage lending, and online and mobile banking. It also offers wealth management, trust, and investment services. The bank serves customers across the Gulf South, with operations in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Texas. Its history includes roots in Hancock County Bank, founded in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, in 1899, and Whitney National Bank, established in New Orleans in 1883.