Street Calls of the Week
Investing.com - Raymond James raised its price target on Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) to $73.00 from $68.00 on Monday, while maintaining a Strong Buy rating on the $5.3 billion regional bank’s shares. The stock, currently trading near its 52-week high of $64.25, has delivered an impressive 29.4% return over the past year.
The price target increase follows meetings with Hancock Whitney management at Raymond James’ 15th Annual Bank Conference last week, where the firm gained confidence in the bank’s ability to execute on recently announced growth initiatives. According to InvestingPro data, seven analysts have recently revised their earnings estimates upward for the upcoming period, suggesting growing optimism about the bank’s prospects.
Raymond James cited expectations for mid-to-upper single-digit loan growth moving forward as Hancock Whitney moves past recent strategic reductions and executes hiring initiatives. The firm expects these factors, coupled with modest expense growth, to fuel mid-single-digit pre-provision net revenue growth in future years.
The investment bank noted Hancock Whitney remains well-positioned to deploy excess capital, with management comfortable allowing CET1 to drift down to the 11.0-11.5% range from the current 14.0% level over time, which should further boost its return profile.
Raymond James views the risk-reward profile positively, citing above-peer projected profitability, ongoing capital deployment, and benign credit metrics against what it considers a discounted valuation compared to peers. Trading at a P/E ratio of 11.5x, the stock currently sits slightly above its InvestingPro Fair Value estimate, with additional insights available in the comprehensive Pro Research Report.
In other recent news, Hancock Whitney Corporation reported its second-quarter 2025 earnings, revealing a minor miss in earnings per share (EPS) compared to market forecasts. The company posted an EPS of $1.32, slightly below the anticipated $1.36, marking a 2.94% negative surprise. Despite this, the company experienced positive developments in loan growth, with a 6% increase on an annualized basis, as noted by Piper Sandler. This growth contributed to improved asset quality, with criticized commercial loans decreasing by 4% and non-accrual loans falling by 9%.
Additionally, Hancock Whitney announced a regular third-quarter 2025 common stock cash dividend of $0.45 per share, payable on September 15, 2025. Analysts have adjusted their price targets for the company, with DA Davidson raising its target to $67, Piper Sandler increasing it to $72, and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods setting it at $64. These adjustments reflect the company’s solid loan growth and stable credit metrics. The firm’s net interest margin expansion and higher-than-expected share buybacks were also highlighted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
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