FY2025 EPS Forecast for Hancock Whitney Boosted by Analyst

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) - Equities researchers at DA Davidson raised their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Hancock Whitney in a report issued on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $6.05 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $5.32. DA Davidson currently has a "Buy" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney's current full-year earnings is $5.16 per share.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on HWC. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $72.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of HWC traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $59.45. The stock had a trading volume of 630,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 751,010. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business's fifty day moving average is $57.33 and its 200 day moving average is $54.00. Hancock Whitney has a 52-week low of $41.19 and a 52-week high of $62.40. The firm has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.27.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $39,981.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,232,343.20. This trade represents a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the company's 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,297,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,917,000 after buying an additional 73,316 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,149,648 shares of the company's stock worth $110,016,000 after acquiring an additional 30,239 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,154,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,093,000 after purchasing an additional 46,622 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 20.9% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 780,882 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,350,000 after purchasing an additional 135,076 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 213.7% during 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. Hedge funds and other 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.