Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Price Target Raised to $55.00

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) had its price target lifted by Citigroup from $50.00 to $55.00 in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on HWC. Truist Financial cut their target price on Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut Hancock Whitney from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Sunday, March 31st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Stephens reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $51.43.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

HWC stock opened at $47.96 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.57. The firm has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.31. 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 has a 12 month low of $31.75 and a 12 month high of $49.65.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 27.97%.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $158,166.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 35,285 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,897.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $158,166.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,897.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total transaction of $59,306.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,094,058.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,780 shares of company stock worth $256,988 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 5.6% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 48,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 11,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 12.4% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 7.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,102,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,755,000 after buying an additional 148,542 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 5.6% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

About Hancock Whitney

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.