Hancock Whitney (HWC) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $5.66B
• Dividend Yield: 2.74%
• Average Volume (3M): 787.10K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 11.9
• Beta (1Y): 1.00
• Revenue Growth: -0.78%
• EPS Growth: 25.39%
• Country: US
• Employees: 3,497
• Sector: Financial
• Sector Strength: 70
• Industry: Banks - Regional
• EPS (TTM): 1.49
• Shares Outstanding: 83,613,120
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 557,848
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 787,104
• PEG Ratio: 1.41
• Price to Book (P/B): 1.19
• Price to Sales (P/S): 2.62
• P/FCF Ratio: 13.36
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.19
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 3.33
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 4.56
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 10.25
• 1Y Price Target: $77.43
• Price Target Upside: 10.71% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Strong Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 7
• EPS Forecast (FY): 6.32
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $1.62B

• Rating: 70 Outperform
• Price Target: $77.00 ▲(10.09% Upside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/27/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/27/26

The score is driven primarily by solid underlying financial performance (healthy profitability and improved leverage versus 2022) and a constructive earnings outlook with quantified benefits from the bond portfolio restructuring plus ongoing buybacks. Valuation is supportive with a modest P/E and a mid-single-digit dividend yield, while the main offsets are cash flow volatility and mixed near-term technical momentum.

Positive Factors

Strong profitability and margins

Consistently strong operating and net margins indicate durable core profitability and efficient operations. This margin profile supports internal capital generation, funds reinvestment and shareholder returns, and provides a buffer to absorb cyclical credit losses over the next several quarters.

Robust capital and buyback capacity

Healthy regulatory capital ratios provide structural flexibility to support lending, withstand stress, and return capital via buybacks/dividends. A board‑approved buyback backed by strong CET1/TCE signals management confidence and preserves optionality for capital deployment over months to come.

Bond portfolio restructuring boosting NII/NIM

A completed, value‑accretive repositioning of securities yields a structural uplift to net interest income and margin. The reinvestment raises recurring yields on the bond book, supporting NII and EPS over multiple quarters even after the one‑time charge is recognized.

Negative Factors

Cash flow volatility and decline

Material swings and a steep TTM decline in operating/free cash flow reduce predictability of internally generated funds. Over the medium term this can constrain capacity for organic investment, support for dividends/buybacks, and make capital planning more sensitive to cyclical earnings and credit outcomes.

Rising expense base from reinvestment

Planned reinvestment and acquisition integration will structurally raise operating expenses, pressuring efficiency ratios. If revenue/margin gains lag, margin compression could persist for multiple quarters, reducing incremental earnings leverage from the core franchise.

Funding and margin pressure from deposit re‑pricing

Concentrated near‑term CD maturities and declining loan yields create structural margin risk as deposits reprice and loan yields compress. Unless offset by continued bond reinvestment or loan mix shifts, NIM and NII could face headwinds across the next several quarters.

Hancock Whitney Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

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 accepts various deposit products, including noninterest-bearing demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, and time deposit accounts. The company also offers loans products comprising commercial and industrial loans; commercial real estate loans; construction and land development loans; residential mortgages; consumer loans comprising second lien mortgage home loans, home equity lines of credit, and nonresidential consumer purpose loans; revolving credit facilities; and letters of credit and financial guarantees. In addition, it offers investment brokerage and treasury management services, and annuity and life insurance products; and trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations, and individuals. Further, the company facilitates investments in new market tax credit activities; and holds various foreclosed assets. The company operates 177 banking locations and 239 automated teller machines primarily in the Gulf south corridor, including southern and central Mississippi; southern and central Alabama; southern, central, and northwest Louisiana; the northern, central, and panhandle regions of Florida; and certain areas of east Texas, including Houston, Beaumont, Dallas, and San Antonio. It also operates a loan production office in Tennessee; and a trust and asset management office in Texas. The company was formerly known as Hancock Holding Company and changed its name to Hancock Whitney Corporation in May 2018. Hancock Whitney Corporation was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi.

How the Company Makes Money

Hancock Whitney generates revenue primarily through its core banking operations, which include interest income from loans and investment securities, as well as non-interest income from services such as wealth management, mortgage banking, and transaction fees. The bank earns interest income by providing various loan products, including commercial loans, consumer loans, and mortgages, and collects interest on investment securities. Additionally, HWC benefits from non-interest income streams, including fees for account services, financial advisory services, and asset management. Its strategic partnerships with financial technology companies also enhance its service offerings and customer experience, contributing to its overall earnings. The bank's focus on economic growth in its operating regions and maintaining a strong loan portfolio further supports its revenue generation efforts.

Hancock Whitney Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Profitability is solid with strong operating and net margins and consistently positive results since 2021, and leverage improved materially from 2022 levels. Offsetting this, cash flow is volatile with a sharp TTM decline in operating/free cash flow and debt stepped up in the most recent period, reducing near-term consistency.

Income Statement

Hancock Whitney shows a solid profitability profile in TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months), with strong operating and net profitability (about 31% operating margin and ~24% net margin). Revenue growth in TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months) is very strong versus the prior period, and profits have remained consistently positive since 2021. Offsetting this, profitability is below the 2021–2022 peak levels, and results appear more cyclical across the period (including a loss in 2020), which reduces the stability component of the score.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet looks reasonably conservative for a regional bank, with debt-to-equity improving materially from 2022 to TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months) (~0.67 down to ~0.27). Equity has grown over time, supporting the capital base, while returns on equity are steady around ~11% in 2023–TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months). The key weakness is leverage increased in 2025 versus 2024 (total debt rose and debt-to-equity ticked up), and total assets have been roughly flat over the last few years, suggesting limited balance sheet expansion.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is generally supportive: free cash flow has been positive every year shown and tracks net income closely in TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months) (free cash flow is ~97% of net income), which suggests earnings are translating into cash. However, cash flow volatility is a clear drawback—TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months) operating cash flow and free cash flow declined sharply (free cash flow growth ~-30% vs 2024), and cash flow has swung meaningfully year to year, which lowers confidence in near-term consistency.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	2.02B	2.05B	1.89B	1.47B	1.35B
Gross Profit	1.47B	1.39B	1.31B	1.41B	1.37B
EBITDA	655.82M	615.69M	536.40M	704.81M	613.83M
Net Income	486.07M	460.81M	392.60M	524.09M	463.21M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	35.47B	35.08B	35.58B	35.18B	36.53B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	132.27M	6.68B	6.10B	6.44B	11.22B
Total Debt	1.22B	967.38M	1.52B	2.23B	2.03B
Total Liabilities	31.01B	30.95B	31.77B	31.84B	32.86B
Stockholders Equity	4.46B	4.13B	3.80B	3.34B	3.67B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	396.36M	615.50M	470.22M	812.88M	562.15M
Operating Cash Flow	396.36M	625.74M	495.25M	842.02M	585.69M
Investing Cash Flow	0.00	274.76M	-295.21M	662.36M	-3.22B
Financing Cash Flow	-404.54M	-886.79M	-203.29M	-1.34B	2.51B

Hancock Whitney Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 69.94
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For HWC, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 69.94 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 70.87, above the 50-day MA of 68.33, and above the 200-day MA of 61.12, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 0.27 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 51.42 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 35.59 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for HWC.

Hancock Whitney Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
AX	78 Outperform	$5.17B	12.05	16.75%	―	1.66%	-9.31%
FFIN	73 Outperform	$4.61B	18.20	13.89%	2.42%	12.90%	16.92%
ABCB	71 Outperform	$5.42B	13.23	10.53%	1.02%	2.20%	20.88%
HWC	70 Outperform	$5.66B	11.89	11.28%	2.74%	-0.78%	25.39%
Sector *	68 Neutral	$18.00B	11.42	9.92%	3.81%	9.73%	1.22%
AUB	63 Neutral	$5.48B	18.97	6.72%	3.83%	43.53%	-21.74%
UBSI	61 Neutral	$5.98B	13.03	8.84%	3.77%	8.83%	15.49%

Hancock Whitney Corporate Events

Hancock Whitney Raises Quarterly Dividend, Signals Earnings Confidence

On January 29, 2026, Hancock Whitney Corporation’s board of directors approved an 11.1% increase in its regular first-quarter 2026 common stock cash dividend to $0.50 per share, payable on March 16, 2026 to shareholders of record as of March 5, 2026. The move, which continues a record of uninterrupted quarterly dividend payments since 1967, underscores the bank’s ongoing emphasis on shareholder returns and signals confidence in the stability of its earnings and capital position within its regional banking markets.

The most recent analyst rating on (HWC) stock is a Buy with a $78.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Hancock Whitney stock, see the HWC Stock Forecast page.

Hancock Whitney Posts Strong Q4 Results, Expands Buybacks

On January 20, 2026, Hancock Whitney reported fourth-quarter 2025 net income of $125.6 million, or $1.49 per diluted share, essentially flat versus the prior quarter and up from $1.40 a year earlier, capping what management described as a strong year of higher adjusted EPS, improved adjusted pre-provision net revenue, and double-digit tangible book value growth. The bank posted solid loan and deposit expansion, continued improvement in criticized and nonaccrual loans, and maintained a 1.43% allowance for credit losses while delivering a 3.48% net interest margin and a sub-55% efficiency ratio, even as noninterest expenses ticked higher. Capital levels remained robust—with an estimated CET1 ratio of 13.66% and TCE ratio of 10.06%—supporting an active capital return strategy, including repurchase of 2.54 million shares in the fourth quarter that exhausted its existing buyback authorization and a newly approved program effective January 1, 2026 for up to about 4.1 million additional shares, signaling confidence in ongoing growth and shareholder value creation going into 2026.

The most recent analyst rating on (HWC) stock is a Buy with a $78.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Hancock Whitney stock, see the HWC Stock Forecast page.

Hancock Whitney Announces New Stock Buyback Program

On December 9, 2025, Hancock Whitney Corporation’s Board of Directors authorized a new stock buyback program, effective January 1, 2026, allowing the company to repurchase up to 5% of its outstanding common stock by December 31, 2026. This initiative replaces the previous program, which was fully utilized in the fourth quarter of 2025, and reflects the company’s strategic focus on enhancing shareholder value through flexible repurchase options in accordance with market conditions and regulatory requirements.

The most recent analyst rating on (HWC) stock is a Buy with a $72.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Hancock Whitney stock, see the HWC Stock Forecast page.