Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $61.88 and last traded at $61.64, with a volume of 2223 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HWC. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.89.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.52. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $39,981.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,232,343.20. This trade represents a 3.14 % decrease in their position. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total transaction of $1,069,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,026 shares in the company, valued at $15,099,305.44. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,994 shares of company stock valued at $1,593,710 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 6,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Point Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 6,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

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.