Stephens Has Lowered Expectations for Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Stock Price

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at Stephens from $86.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Stephens’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.32% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on HWC. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Hovde Group cut shares of Hancock Whitney from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.56.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC opened at $75.68 on Wednesday. Hancock Whitney has a 1 year low of $54.05 and a 1 year high of $79.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $71.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.74. The firm has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 0.95.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.55. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 21.81%.The company had revenue of $403.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $398.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total value of $28,005.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,683,432.56. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 70.9% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ: HWC) is a regional financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi. The firm was established in April 2019 through the merger of Hancock Holding Company and Whitney Holding Corporation, each of which traced its roots to the late 19th century. This combination created one of the largest bank holding companies in the Gulf South region, with a network of branches serving both urban and rural communities.

The company’s core business activities include commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.