Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Receives $56.89 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nine research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.89.

HWC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. DA Davidson raised 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. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HWC traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $52.04. 342,508 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 523,254. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.29. Hancock Whitney has a 52-week low of $35.22 and a 52-week high of $57.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $525.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.54 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney's payout ratio is 35.87%.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In other news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.55, for a total value of $443,049.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 54,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,669. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.55, for a total transaction of $443,049.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 54,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,857,669. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total value of $39,981.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,518 shares in the company, valued at $1,232,343.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,994 shares of company stock worth $523,790. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HWC. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the second quarter worth $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the second quarter worth $43,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 268.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter valued at $63,000. 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.