Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.75.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on HWC shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. 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 report on Monday, April 8th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Stephens reduced their price target on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Hancock Whitney from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $42.01 on Wednesday. Hancock Whitney has a 1 year low of $31.02 and a 1 year high of $49.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.34 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.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. The firm 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 12.54% and a net margin of 20.57%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of Hancock Whitney 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 sale, the insider now owns 35,285 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,897.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 9,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.15, for a total transaction of $464,757.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,996.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,897.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,225 shares of company stock worth $1,634,014 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HWC. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 1st quarter worth about $203,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 32,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $783,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 31,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after acquiring an additional 3,034 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.