Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.11 EPS

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.11, Briefing.com reports. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 18.63% and a return on equity of 11.67%. The firm had revenue of $359.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. Hancock Whitney’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

HWC stock traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $55.08. The stock had a trading volume of 132,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,680. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 1.29. Hancock Whitney has a 52 week low of $32.16 and a 52 week high of $56.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total transaction of $59,306.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,094,058.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total value of $39,516.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,843 shares in the company, valued at $2,755,029.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total value of $59,306.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,094,058.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HWC shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Hovde Group increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.78.

About Hancock Whitney

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.