Zacks Research Predicts Reduced Earnings for Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) – Zacks Research decreased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Hancock Whitney in a report released on Tuesday, January 7th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $5.17 for the year, down from their previous 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.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $525.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 earned $1.12 earnings per share.

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

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of HWC opened at $54.60 on Thursday. Hancock Whitney has a 1 year low of $41.19 and a 1 year high of $62.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $57.17 and a 200-day moving average of $53.05.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 19.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Trust Point Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 10.6% during the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 6,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 36,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,977,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 2.8% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 24,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Carleton Richard Wilkins sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $40,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $810,105. This trade represents a 4.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total value of $1,069,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,099,305.44. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,994 shares of company stock valued at $1,593,710 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.87%.

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.