Hancock Whitney’s (HWC) “Strong-Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Raymond James

Raymond James restated their strong-buy rating on shares of Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $72.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $64.00.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on HWC. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 1.7 %

HWC opened at $59.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.73. Hancock Whitney has a twelve month low of $41.19 and a twelve month high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total value of $1,069,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,099,305.44. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total value of $39,981.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,232,343.20. The trade was a 3.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth approximately $72,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 170.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 19.1% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is 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.