Zacks Research Weighs in on Hancock Whitney FY2024 Earnings

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research dropped their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, January 7th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $5.17 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $5.18. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney’s current full-year earnings is $5.19 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hancock Whitney’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.25 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.21 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.35 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.38 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.31 EPS.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS.

HWC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James raised Hancock Whitney from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.63.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ HWC opened at $55.63 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $57.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.97. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 1.27.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.87%.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In other news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,099,305.44. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $39,981.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,232,343.20. The trade was a 3.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,994 shares of company stock valued at $1,593,710 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 707.2% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 576,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,563,000 after buying an additional 504,873 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake 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 worth $1,164,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the second quarter valued at about $450,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the second quarter worth approximately $117,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 174.4% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 19,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,000 after acquiring an additional 12,625 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

About Hancock Whitney

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.