Piper Sandler Reiterates Overweight Rating for Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC)

Piper Sandler restated their overweight rating on shares of Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $52.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $55.00.

HWC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $50.71.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $44.27 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $43.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.49. Hancock Whitney has a twelve month low of $31.02 and a twelve month high of $49.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 1.33.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The firm had revenue of $308.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $355.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, COO D Shane Loper sold 17,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.81, for a total value of $828,068.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 71,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,330,437.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, COO D Shane Loper sold 17,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.81, for a total value of $828,068.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 71,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,330,437.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 9,857 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,996.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,183 shares of company stock valued at $1,450,992 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 81.0% in 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. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other 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.