Hancock Whitney (HWC) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ: HWC) is a regional financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi. The firm was established in April 2019 through the merger of Hancock Holding Company and Whitney Holding Corporation, each of which traced its roots to the late 19th century. This combination created one of the largest bank holding companies in the Gulf South region, with a network of branches serving both urban and rural communities.

The company’s core business activities include commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services. On the commercial side, Hancock Whitney offers lending solutions to small and middle-market businesses, public sector entities and agribusiness operations. Its retail division provides traditional deposit accounts, home mortgages, home equity products and consumer lending options, while the wealth management arm offers trust and fiduciary services, investment advisory and financial planning for individual and institutional clients.

Hancock Whitney maintains a strong regional presence across Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. Its branch network is complemented by a suite of digital banking platforms, mobile applications and ATMs, ensuring customers have access to online account management, payment services and electronic fund transfers. The company also provides treasury management services for corporate clients, integrating cash management, merchant services and fraud prevention tools.

The bank is governed by a board of directors and an executive leadership team with extensive experience in banking, finance and community development. Under its current management, Hancock Whitney has continued to focus on delivering personalized service, investing in technology and supporting local economic growth across the Gulf South.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $61.49 to $62.31
• 50-Day Range: $55.91 to $63.54
• 52-Week Range: $43.90 to $64.25
• Volume: 197,538 shs
• Average Volume: 711,087 shs
• Market Capitalization: $5.27 billion
• P/E Ratio: 11.45
• Dividend Yield: 2.89%
• Price Target: $67.63
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Hancock Whitney Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Hancock Whitney scored higher than 87% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 206th out of 930 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.4 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Hancock Whitney has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.88, and is based on 5 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Hancock Whitney has been the subject of 6 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 2.53%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Hancock Whitney are expected to grow by 2.53% in the coming year, from $5.53 to $5.67 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Hancock Whitney is 11.45, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 269.24.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Hancock Whitney is 11.45, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 228.77.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Hancock Whitney has a P/B Ratio of 1.30. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 2.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

4.58% of the float of Hancock Whitney has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Hancock Whitney has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 5.3.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Hancock Whitney has recently increased by 7.89%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Moderate

Dividend Yield

Hancock Whitney pays a meaningful dividend of 2.86%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Hancock Whitney has only been increasing its dividend for 3 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Hancock Whitney is 33.15%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Hancock Whitney will have a dividend payout ratio of 31.75% next year. This indicates that Hancock Whitney will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 3.4 / 5
• Environmental Score: -0.47

Percentage of Shares Shorted

4.58% of the float of Hancock Whitney has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Hancock Whitney has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 5.3.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Hancock Whitney has recently increased by 7.89%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.3 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.20

News Sentiment

Hancock Whitney has a news sentiment score of 1.20. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This news sentiment score is similar to the average news sentiment of Finance companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 17 news articles for Hancock Whitney this week, compared to 7 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 1 people have searched for HWC on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -67% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Insider Trading: Acquiring Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Hancock Whitney insiders have bought more of their company's stock than they have sold. Specifically, they have bought $1,297.00 in company stock and sold $0.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 0.91% of the stock of Hancock Whitney is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

81.22% of the stock of Hancock Whitney is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

HWC Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have HWC shares performed this year?

Hancock Whitney's stock was trading at $54.72 at the start of the year. Since then, HWC stock has increased by 13.7% and is now trading at $62.1950.

How were Hancock Whitney's earnings last quarter?

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July, 15th. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.01. The business earned $377.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $375.99 million. Hancock Whitney had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 23.28%.
Read the conference call transcript.

Who are Hancock Whitney's major shareholders?

Top institutional shareholders of Hancock Whitney include State Street Corp (5.09%), Geode Capital Management LLC (2.60%), Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC (2.28%) and American Century Companies Inc. (2.00%). Insiders that own company stock include John M Hairston, D Shane Loper, Cecil W Knight Jr, Michael M Achary, Christopher S Ziluca, Joseph S Exnicios, Christine L Pickering, Frank E Bertucci, Carleton Richard Wilkins, Joan Cahill Teofilo, Sonia Perez, Harry Merritt Lane III and Albert J Williams.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Hancock Whitney?

Shares of HWC stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Hancock Whitney own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Hancock Whitney investors own include NVIDIA (NVDA), Meta Platforms (META), Broadcom (AVGO), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Adobe (ADBE), ServiceNow (NOW) and Netflix (NFLX).

Company Calendar

• Record date for 6/16 Dividend: 6/05/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 6/16 Dividend: 6/05/2025
• Dividend Payable: 6/16/2025
• Last Earnings: 7/15/2025
• Today: 9/02/2025
• Record date for 9/15 Dividend: 9/05/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 9/15 Dividend: 9/05/2025
• Dividend Payable: 9/15/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 10/21/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Finance
• Industry: BANKS - SOUTHEAST
• Sub-Industry: Banking
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:HWC
• CIK: 750577
• Web: www.hancockwhitney.com
• Phone: (228) 868-4000
• Fax: 228-868-4627
• Employees: 3,476
• Year Founded: N/A

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Hancock Whitney: $67.63
• High Price Target: $74.00
• Low Price Target: $56.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +7.5%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.88
• Research Coverage: 8 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $5.43
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 11.59
• Forward P/E Ratio: 11.38
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $460.82 million
• Net Margins: 23.28%
• Pretax Margin: 29.16%
• Return on Equity: 11.21%
• Return on Assets: 1.35%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.05
• Current Ratio: 0.81
• Quick Ratio: 0.81

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $2.06 billion
• Price / Sales: 2.59
• Cash Flow: $6.04 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 10.41
• Book Value: $47.96 per share
• Price / Book: 1.31

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 84,750,000
• Free Float: 83,984,000
• Market Cap: $5.33 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.13