Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $84.56

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $84.56.

HWC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Benchmark increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Emory L. Mayfield, Jr. sold 4,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.40, for a total value of $381,236.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,166. This represents a 24.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 70.9% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 26.0% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 852 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 0.9%

HWC opened at $71.99 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.87. Hancock Whitney has a fifty-two week low of $55.11 and a fifty-two week high of $80.13. The company has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 20.51% and a return on equity of 11.65%. The firm had revenue of $421.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $421.75 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 40.24%.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

Hancock Whitney Corporation is a financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi, and the parent company of Hancock Whitney Bank. The bank provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutions through branches and digital banking channels.

Its products and services include checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial lending, residential mortgages, credit cards, treasury and cash management services, and online and mobile banking.