Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $58.00 and last traded at $57.94, with a volume of 82410 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HWC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.89.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.57 and its 200 day moving average is $49.49. The company has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 1.25.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. The firm had revenue of $525.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Carleton Richard Wilkins sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $40,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $810,105. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Carleton Richard Wilkins sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total transaction of $40,760.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $810,105. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $39,981.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,232,343.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,994 shares of company stock worth $523,790 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HWC. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 707.2% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 576,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,563,000 after buying an additional 504,873 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 213.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 735,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,663,000 after acquiring an additional 501,259 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 30.9% during the second quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,069,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,141,000 after purchasing an additional 252,473 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 20.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,401,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,015,000 after purchasing an additional 237,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 3.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,980,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,197,000 after purchasing an additional 167,304 shares in the last quarter. 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.