Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company 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

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

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 12.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.40 and a 200 day moving average of $49.35. The company has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 1.25.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. The business 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 business posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $2,857,669. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hancock Whitney news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 54,380 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,669. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total value of $39,981.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,518 shares in the company, valued at $1,232,343.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,994 shares of company stock valued at $523,790. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 268.9% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter worth $63,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently 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.