Stephens Reaffirms Overweight Rating for Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC)

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Stephens in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 23.03% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.00.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $55.27 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Hancock Whitney has a 12-month low of $41.19 and a 12-month high of $62.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.62.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 11.47%. The company had revenue of $525.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total transaction of $1,069,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 254,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,099,305.44. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Carleton Richard Wilkins sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total transaction of $40,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,900 shares in the company, valued at $810,105. This trade represents a 4.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,994 shares of company stock valued at $1,593,710 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 19.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Trust Point Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 10.6% in the third 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. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 3.5% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $868,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 24,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.