Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Price Target Raised to $55.00

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) had its target price increased by Citigroup from $50.00 to $55.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on HWC. StockNews.com lowered Hancock Whitney from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Sunday, March 31st. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $52.00 price objective (down from $55.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $51.43.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.7 %

HWC stock opened at $47.96 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.57. The stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.31. Hancock Whitney has a fifty-two week low of $31.75 and a fifty-two week high of $49.65.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 35,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,897.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total transaction of $59,306.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,094,058.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,897.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,780 shares of company stock valued at $256,988 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HWC. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 13.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,791,000 after buying an additional 96,522 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 4.2% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 122,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,516,000 after acquiring an additional 4,886 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 16.0% during the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,407,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,064,000 after acquiring an additional 194,100 shares during the period. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth $1,045,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,039,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,449,000 after acquiring an additional 14,625 shares during the period. 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.