Zacks Research Expects Higher Earnings for Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for Hancock Whitney in a report issued on Tuesday, February 11th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $1.39 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $1.21. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney’s current full-year earnings is $5.43 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hancock Whitney’s FY2025 earnings at $5.70 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $1.31 EPS.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

NASDAQ HWC opened at $60.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $57.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.59. Hancock Whitney has a twelve month low of $41.56 and a twelve month high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 322,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,629,000 after acquiring an additional 24,389 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 99,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,436,000 after purchasing an additional 6,194 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Salzhauer Michael boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 23,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 470,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,723,000 after buying an additional 4,076 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.