Hancock Whitney’s (HWC) “Strong-Buy” Rating Reiterated at Raymond James

Raymond James reiterated their strong-buy rating on shares of Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Raymond James currently has a $72.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $64.00.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on HWC. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock opened at $58.97 on Wednesday. Hancock Whitney has a 52 week low of $41.19 and a 52 week high of $62.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $57.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.81. The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 1.27.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.30%.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In related news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 254,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,099,305.44. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 3.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the third quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 170.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. 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.