Zacks Research Predicts Reduced Earnings for Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research lowered their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Hancock Whitney in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, January 7th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the company will post earnings per share of $5.17 for the year, down from their prior estimate of $5.18. The consensus estimate for Hancock Whitney’s current full-year earnings is $5.19 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hancock Whitney’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.25 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.21 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.35 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.38 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.31 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on HWC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.63.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock opened at $54.60 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 1.27. Hancock Whitney has a 12 month low of $41.19 and a 12 month high of $62.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

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

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $39,981.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,518 shares in the company, valued at $1,232,343.20. The trade was a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.55, for a total value 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. The trade was a 13.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,994 shares of company stock worth $1,593,710. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,980,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,197,000 after purchasing an additional 167,304 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,297,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,917,000 after acquiring an additional 73,316 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,149,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,016,000 after acquiring an additional 30,239 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,401,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,015,000 after acquiring an additional 237,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,154,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,093,000 after acquiring an additional 46,622 shares during the last quarter. 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.