Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on HWC. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

HWC stock opened at $59.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Hancock Whitney has a 1 year low of $41.19 and a 1 year high of $62.40. The company has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $57.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.77.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its earnings results 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 11.66% and a net margin of 22.40%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is 30.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 170.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,677 shares during 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.