Q3 EPS Estimates for Hancock Whitney Raised by Analyst

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Hancock Whitney in a report issued on Tuesday, January 7th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $1.27 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.26. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney's current full-year earnings is $5.19 per share.

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

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $54.60. The stock had a trading volume of 705,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 597,802. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Hancock Whitney has a 12 month low of $41.19 and a 12 month high of $62.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $57.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.99.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $525.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.54 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 11.47%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total value of $1,069,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carleton Richard Wilkins sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 15,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $810,105. The trade was 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 worth $1,593,710 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 504,873 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 213.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 735,790 shares of the company's stock worth $34,663,000 after purchasing an additional 501,259 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 30.9% during the second quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,069,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,141,000 after purchasing an additional 252,473 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 20.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,401,113 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,015,000 after purchasing an additional 237,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 149.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 321,196 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,435,000 after purchasing an additional 192,295 shares during the last quarter. 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.