Hancock Whitney Corp (HWC)
NASDAQ:HWC
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Hancock Whitney
(NASDAQ:HWC)
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Rating:65Neutral
Price Target:
$70.00
▲(1.83% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:05/20/26
The score is anchored by solid but slowing financial performance (revenue decline, margin/ROE compression, and cash-flow volatility) and only modest technical momentum. These are partly offset by a constructive earnings outlook (expected NIM expansion, capital returns) and a positive M&A-driven growth catalyst, while valuation appears relatively rich despite a decent dividend.
Positive Factors
Strong capitalization
A CET1 ratio of 13.3% and TCE near 9.93% provide durable loss-absorption capacity and regulatory flexibility. This capital footing supports organic growth, M&A execution, dividends and buybacks while reducing the likelihood of forced asset sales under stress, bolstering franchise resilience.
Negative Factors
Revenue decline & margin compression
A multi-quarter decline in revenue and compressed margins signal the business is facing structural headwinds: slower loan growth, fee variability and tighter net interest spread. Persisting declines would erode return on equity, limit reinvestment capacity and raise pressure on long-term profitability.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Strong capitalization
A CET1 ratio of 13.3% and TCE near 9.93% provide durable loss-absorption capacity and regulatory flexibility. This capital footing supports organic growth, M&A execution, dividends and buybacks while reducing the likelihood of forced asset sales under stress, bolstering franchise resilience.
Read all positive factors
Hancock Whitney (HWC) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$5.48B
Dividend Yield2.74%
Average Volume (3M)857.13K
Price to Earnings (P/E)27.6
Beta (1Y)1.03
Revenue Growth-5.31%
EPS Growth-9.60%
CountryUS
Employees3,497
SectorFinancial
Sector Strength70
IndustryBanks - Regional
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)4.90
Shares Outstanding81,157,970
10 Day Avg. Volume951,580
30 Day Avg. Volume857,132
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio1.41
Price to Book (P/B)1.19
Price to Sales (P/S)2.62
P/FCF Ratio10.12
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.20
Enterprise Value/Revenue3.40
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit4.71
Enterprise Value/Ebitda11.75
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$79.40Price Target Upside15.51% Upside
Rating ConsensusStrong Buy
Number of Analyst Covering5
EPS Forecast (FY)6.45
Revenue Forecast (FY)$1.59B
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, includin...
How the Company Makes Money
Hancock Whitney primarily makes money through (1) net interest income and (2) noninterest income. Net interest income is generated by earning interest and fees on interest-earning assets—most importantly loans (such as commercial and industrial lo...
Hancock Whitney Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Apr 21, 2026
(Q1-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jul 21, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
Overall the call presented a constructive tone: profitability metrics improved (ROA, ROTCE, adjusted EPS), NIM expanded, capital ratios remain strong and management both returned capital and completed a bond restructuring that should lift future yields. Management retained guidance and expressed confidence in mid-single-digit loan growth driven by loan production and new banker hires. Offsets included modest net loan growth this quarter due to elevated prepayments and public fund deposit outflows, a one-time loss from the bond restructuring, and some uptick in nonaccruals. On balance the positive operational and capital dynamics and the maintained/optimistic guidance outweigh the near-term headwinds.Positive Updates
Improved Profitability Metrics
Adjusted ROA of 1.43%, ROTCE of 14.64%, and adjusted EPS of $1.52 (adjusted EPS >10% higher year-over-year); adjusted net income of $125 million for the quarter (vs. $126 million prior quarter before adjustments).
Negative Updates
Limited Net Loan Growth this Quarter
Net loan growth was modest: loans grew $33 million (about 1% annualized) in the quarter. Seasonally soft Q1, high prepayments (unplanned paydowns including $820 million in the quarter) and planned payoffs moderated net growth despite $1.2 billion of originations.
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Improved Profitability Metrics
Adjusted ROA of 1.43%, ROTCE of 14.64%, and adjusted EPS of $1.52 (adjusted EPS >10% higher year-over-year); adjusted net income of $125 million for the quarter (vs. $126 million prior quarter before adjustments).
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Management reiterated its prior guidance with specifics: full-year loan growth unchanged at mid-single-digits and deposits still expected to be up low-single-digits versus 2025, NIM guidance remains a 12–15 bps expansion from 4Q’25 to 4Q’26 (with a bias to the high end) while the January bond restructuring is expected to add ~7 bps to annual NIM (full-quarter lift ~32 bps; quarter contribution ~4 bps; bond yield up 25 bps this quarter to 3.23% with roughly $1.0B of principal cash flows to reinvest at ~4.25%), and the company now models no Fed rate cuts in 2026 with no significant hit to NII/NIM.
They also guided fee income up ~4–5% (bias upper end), expenses to remain controlled, net charge-offs to average ~15–25 bps for the year, continued share repurchases at similar levels (1.4M shares bought this quarter against ~4.1M authorization), dividend increased 11% to $0.50, CD renewal ~85% with ~ $7B of CDs maturing (≈$5B in the last three quarters) helping drive further cost-of-deposit relief (10 bps realized in 1Q to 1.47%, targeting ~16 bps Y/Y), and longer-term CSO capital targets of TCE ~9–9.5% and CET1 ~12–12.5% by 4Q’28.Hancock Whitney Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
71
Positive
Balance Sheet
74
Positive
Cash Flow
66
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 1.94B | 2.02B | 2.05B | 1.89B | 1.47B | 1.35B |
| Gross Profit | 1.40B | 1.47B | 1.39B | 1.31B | 1.41B | 1.37B |
| EBITDA | 561.75M | 655.82M | 615.69M | 536.40M | 704.81M | 613.83M |
| Net Income | 413.99M | 486.07M | 460.81M | 392.60M | 524.09M | 463.21M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 35.54B | 35.47B | 35.08B | 35.58B | 35.18B | 36.53B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 555.52M | 563.22M | 6.68B | 6.10B | 6.44B | 11.22B |
| Total Debt | 1.68B | 1.34B | 967.38M | 1.52B | 2.23B | 2.03B |
| Total Liabilities | 31.12B | 31.01B | 30.95B | 31.77B | 31.84B | 32.86B |
| Stockholders Equity | 4.42B | 4.46B | 4.13B | 3.80B | 3.34B | 3.67B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 531.27M | 523.06M | 615.50M | 470.22M | 812.88M | 562.15M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 551.97M | 541.78M | 625.74M | 495.25M | 842.02M | 585.69M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -728.48M | -314.36M | 274.76M | -295.21M | 662.36M | -3.22B |
| Financing Cash Flow | 221.69M | -239.34M | -886.79M | -203.29M | -1.34B | 2.51B |
Hancock Whitney Technical Analysis
Positive
68.74
Price Trends
65.74
Positive
66.66
Positive
63.48
Positive
Market Momentum
-0.04
Positive
53.64
Neutral
69.02
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 68.74 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 66.85, above the 50-day MA of 65.74, and above the 200-day MA of 63.48, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of -0.04 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 53.64 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 69.02 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for HWC.
Hancock Whitney Risk Analysis
Hancock Whitney disclosed 39 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Hancock Whitney reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Hancock Whitney Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (68)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
81 Outperform | $4.62B | 14.74 | 14.20% | 2.42% | 10.27% | 13.77% | |
73 Outperform | $5.70B | 11.96 | 10.81% | 1.02% | 0.32% | 17.91% | |
71 Outperform | $5.38B | 10.37 | 6.99% | 3.83% | 60.27% | 7.08% | |
69 Neutral | $4.90B | 9.65 | 16.60% | ― | 8.53% | 12.29% | |
69 Neutral | $5.96B | 11.64 | 9.26% | 3.77% | 10.93% | 32.14% | |
68 Neutral | $18.00B | 11.42 | 9.92% | 3.81% | 9.73% | 1.22% | |
65 Neutral | $5.48B | 27.58 | 9.35% | 2.74% | -5.31% | -9.60% |
* Financial Sector Average
HWC
Hancock Whitney
67.50
14.86
28.23%
ABCB
Ameris Bancorp
84.69
24.14
39.88%
AX
Axos Financial
86.07
16.49
23.70%
FFIN
First Financial Bankshares
32.24
-1.19
-3.55%
AUB
Atlantic Union Bankshares
37.56
9.92
35.88%
UBSI
United Bankshares
43.26
8.64
24.96%
Hancock Whitney Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyM&A Transactions
Hancock Whitney to Acquire OFB Bancshares in Cash Deal
Positive
May 19, 2026
On May 15, 2026, Hancock Whitney Corporation signed a merger agreement under which its subsidiary will merge with OFB Bancshares, Inc., followed by a subsequent merger of OFB Bancshares into Hancock Whitney, creating a multi-step legal structure t...
Business Operations and StrategyM&A Transactions
Hancock Whitney to Acquire OFB Bancshares, Expand in Florida
Positive
May 15, 2026
On May 15, 2026, Hancock Whitney announced a definitive all-cash agreement to acquire OFB Bancshares, parent of One Florida Bank, in a deal that will extend the Gulfport-based lender’s franchise into the fast-growing Orlando market and the F...
Executive/Board ChangesShareholder Meetings
Hancock Whitney Shareholders Approve Directors, Pay, Auditor at AGM
Positive
Apr 30, 2026
Hancock Whitney Corporation held its 2026 annual meeting of shareholders on April 29, 2026, in a virtual-only format, with 74,452,585 of 81,546,524 eligible common shares represented. Shareholders elected five directors — Frank E. Bertucci, ...
Business Operations and StrategyStock BuybackDividendsFinancial Disclosures
Hancock Whitney Restructures Securities Portfolio, Maintains Strong Capital
Neutral
Apr 21, 2026
Hancock Whitney reported first-quarter 2026 net income of $47.4 million, or $0.57 per diluted share, sharply lower than the prior quarter due to a $98.6 million pretax loss from a securities portfolio restructuring announced on April 21, 2026. Exc...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.