Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $50.71.

A number of analysts have recently commented on HWC shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup raised Hancock Whitney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, COO D Shane Loper sold 17,690 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.81, for a total value of $828,068.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 71,148 shares in the company, valued at $3,330,437.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $158,166.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 35,285 shares in the company, valued at $1,534,897.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO D Shane Loper sold 17,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.81, for a total value of $828,068.90. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 71,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,330,437.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,192,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,670,000 after acquiring an additional 95,432 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,749,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,786,000 after buying an additional 249,944 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 3.4% during the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,298,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,000,000 after buying an additional 109,016 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 7.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,184,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,822,000 after buying an additional 142,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 7.6% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,102,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,755,000 after buying an additional 148,542 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC stock opened at $46.00 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $43.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.75. Hancock Whitney has a 12 month low of $31.02 and a 12 month high of $49.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 27.97%.

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.