Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $61.13 and last traded at $60.62, with a volume of 69474 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.25.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HWC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson increased their target price 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 target price on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.89.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.95.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $525.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.54 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.55, for a total transaction of $443,049.05. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 54,380 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,669. This represents a 13.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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. Insiders have sold 27,994 shares of company stock valued at $1,593,710 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 268.9% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.