Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Posted by Francis Steltz on Jul 2nd, 2026

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC – Get Free Report) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

HWC has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Hancock Whitney from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Hovde Group lowered shares of Hancock Whitney from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.25.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

HWC stock opened at $75.66 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $69.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.52. Hancock Whitney has a 1-year low of $54.05 and a 1-year high of $76.38.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.04. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.20% and a net margin of 21.34%.The company had revenue of $393.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.01 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total value of $28,005.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,683,432.56. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 70.9% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 67.6% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hancock Whitney

(Get Free Report)

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ: HWC) is a regional financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi. The firm was established in April 2019 through the merger of Hancock Holding Company and Whitney Holding Corporation, each of which traced its roots to the late 19th century. This combination created one of the largest bank holding companies in the Gulf South region, with a network of branches serving both urban and rural communities.

The company’s core business activities include commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.