Brokerages Set Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) PT at $75.63

Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $75.6250.

HWC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 0.1%

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $61.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Hancock Whitney has a fifty-two week low of $43.90 and a fifty-two week high of $75.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $67.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.79. The firm has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 1.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $81.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.63 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 24.05%.During the same period last year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.21%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total transaction of $358,415.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 33,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,283,449.57. This represents a 13.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 6.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 14,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by 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.