Piper Sandler Boosts Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Price Target to $62.00

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) had its price objective lifted by Piper Sandler from $52.00 to $62.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on HWC. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Hancock Whitney from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Hancock Whitney from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Hancock Whitney from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and increased their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, May 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $56.78.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ HWC opened at $53.63 on Wednesday. Hancock Whitney has a 12 month low of $32.16 and a 12 month high of $56.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.52.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.11. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 18.63%. The business had revenue of $359.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $359.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 5.02 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total transaction of $39,516.08. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was 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 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total value of $39,516.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,755,029.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 96.5% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 28,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 14,211 shares during the last quarter. DMC Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $205,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,000 after buying an additional 5,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently 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.