Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $61.13 and last traded at $60.62, with a volume of 69474 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HWC has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.89.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 0.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $52.18 and its 200 day moving average is $49.95.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $525.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.54 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 35.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.55, for a total transaction of $443,049.05. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 54,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,857,669. This trade represents a 13.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total value of $1,069,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,099,305.44. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,994 shares of company stock valued at $1,593,710. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 6,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 5.5% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 6,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.