Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Sets New 1-Year High at $57.11

Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $57.11 and last traded at $57.04, with a volume of 98312 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on HWC. StockNews.com raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.78.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.48 and a 200-day moving average of $45.68.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.11. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 18.63%. The business had revenue of $359.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $359.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. Hancock Whitney’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is 37.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total transaction of $39,516.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,755,029.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total value of $59,306.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,094,058.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total value of $39,516.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 58,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,755,029.26. 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 institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HWC. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 268.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.