FY2024 EPS Forecast for Hancock Whitney Lifted by Analyst

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) – Analysts at DA Davidson raised their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Hancock Whitney in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $5.25 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $5.24. DA Davidson has a “Buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney’s current full-year earnings is $5.19 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Hancock Whitney’s FY2025 earnings at $5.32 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.00.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $53.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 1.27. Hancock Whitney has a 1 year low of $41.19 and a 1 year high of $62.40. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.96.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $525.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.54 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 11.47%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total transaction of $1,069,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 254,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,099,305.44. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.55, for a total transaction of $443,049.05. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 54,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,669. This represents a 13.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,994 shares of company stock worth $1,593,710 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Trust Point Inc. grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 10.6% in the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 6,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 3.5% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 18,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $868,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 2.8% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 24,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 657 shares in 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.