Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after DA Davidson raised their price target on the stock from $55.00 to $57.00. The stock had previously closed at $42.01, but opened at $43.99. DA Davidson currently has a buy rating on the stock. Hancock Whitney shares last traded at $43.05, with a volume of 120,407 shares traded.

HWC has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Hancock Whitney from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Stephens reduced their price target on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised Hancock Whitney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $48.00 to $50.00 in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 9,857 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.15, for a total transaction of $464,757.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,996.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Hancock Whitney news, COO D Shane Loper sold 17,690 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.81, for a total transaction of $828,068.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 71,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,330,437.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 9,857 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.15, for a total value of $464,757.55. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,996.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,183 shares of company stock valued at $1,450,992 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HWC. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 136.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 151.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 904 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $43.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 1.33.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 19.07%. The firm had revenue of $308.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $355.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.97%.

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.