Update shared on09 Sep 2025
Fair value Increased 0.90%Analysts raised Hancock Whitney’s price target to $70.25 on Q2 loan growth, net interest margin expansion, and expected Fed rate cuts, though some caution remains due to outperformance YTD and moderating revenue growth forecasts.
Analyst Commentary
- Bullish analysts expect upcoming Federal Reserve interest rate cuts to positively impact regional bank valuations, serving as catalysts for Hancock Whitney’s stock.
- Strong Q2 results, including approximately 6% loan growth (LQA), enhanced asset quality, and progress with the Sabal Trust Company acquisition, supported upward price target revisions.
- Ongoing positive loan growth trends, highlighted by 6.3% growth in period-end balances, as well as solid net interest income growth and net interest margin expansion, have reinforced confidence among bullish analysts.
- Bearish analysts flagged that Hancock Whitney’s shares have already outperformed year-to-date, and much of the positive outlook is now reflected in the current stock price.
- There are concerns about a slower revenue growth trajectory for Hancock Whitney in the second half of 2025 and into 2026 relative to peers, leading to more neutral to cautious stances.
What's in the News
- Piper Sandler raised Hancock Whitney's price target to $72 from $70 and maintained an Overweight rating, citing strong Q2 results, robust LQA loan growth of about 6%, improved asset quality, and strategic advances, including the Sabal Trust Company acquisition (Periodicals).
- Hancock Whitney reported $17.8 million in net charge-offs for Q2 2025, up from $10.3 million in Q1, representing 0.31% of average total loans annualized versus 0.18% in Q1 (Key Developments).
- The company completed the repurchase of 1.28% of its shares (1.1 million shares) for $60.08 million as part of its buyback program announced in December 2024, with 750,000 shares repurchased in Q2 alone (Key Developments).
- Enhanced asset quality and continued loan growth have been highlighted as strengths in the latest analyst commentary and quarterly performance (Periodicals).
- Strategic M&A activity, specifically the Sabal Trust Company acquisition, is viewed as a positive driver for future growth and was noted as contributing to recent performance improvements (Periodicals).
Valuation Changes
Summary of Valuation Changes for Hancock Whitney
- The Consensus Analyst Price Target remained effectively unchanged, moving only marginally from $69.62 to $70.25.
- The Consensus Revenue Growth forecasts for Hancock Whitney has fallen slightly from 8.2% per annum to 7.9% per annum.
- The Future P/E for Hancock Whitney remained effectively unchanged, moving only marginally from 12.90x to 13.01x.
Disclaimer
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