Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Downgraded to “Neutral” at Janney Montgomery Scott

Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC – Get Rating) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, The Fly reports. Janney Montgomery Scott currently has $44.50 target price on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $56.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Hancock Whitney from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and lowered their price target for the company from $60.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James lowered their price target on Hancock Whitney from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $54.81.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $38.82 on Tuesday. Hancock Whitney has a 1-year low of $37.00 and a 1-year high of $57.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $49.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 1.35.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 17th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.02. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 35.69%. The firm had revenue of $375.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $388.47 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 6.09 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 3rd. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 20.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 6,675 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.12, for a total value of $334,551.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,515,628.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HWC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 279.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 660 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the period. River Oaks Capital LLC boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. River Oaks Capital LLC now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

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Hancock Whitney Corp. operates as a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services. It also offers trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations, individuals, brokerage services, annuity products, life insurance, general insurance and agency services, including life, title insurance and consumer financing service.