DA Davidson Boosts Earnings Estimates for Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) - Analysts at DA Davidson upped their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner now forecasts that the company will earn $5.25 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $5.24. DA Davidson has a "Buy" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney's current full-year earnings is $5.19 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Hancock Whitney's FY2025 earnings at $5.32 EPS.

HWC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens upgraded Hancock Whitney from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.00.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HWC traded up $1.13 on Friday, hitting $54.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,962,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 510,138. 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 one year low of $41.19 and a one year high of $62.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 1.27.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $525.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $363.54 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.12 EPS.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company 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 was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Hancock Whitney's payout ratio is 35.87%.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.55, for a total value of $443,049.05. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 54,380 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,669. The trade was a 13.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,994 shares of company stock worth $1,593,710. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter worth $844,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 66.7% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 33,106 shares of the company's stock worth $1,694,000 after buying an additional 13,243 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the third quarter valued at $2,605,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 35.4% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 102,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,884,000 after buying an additional 26,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the third quarter valued at about $508,000. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

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.