Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.12 EPS

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.12, Briefing.com reports. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HWC traded up $1.64 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $60.74. 796,047 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 693,909. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.62. Hancock Whitney has a twelve month low of $41.19 and a twelve month high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $39,981.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,232,343.20. This trade represents a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total transaction of $1,069,920.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,099,305.44. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. DA Davidson boosted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of 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 shares of Hancock Whitney from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.63.

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.