SunTrust Lowers Hancock Holding Company (HBHC) Price Target to $27.00

Hancock Holding Company (NASDAQ:HBHC) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at SunTrust from $33.00 to $27.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.comreports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. SunTrust’s price target suggests a potential upside of 11.11% from the stock’s previous close.

Shares of Hancock Holding Company (NASDAQ:HBHC) traded up 0.16% on Friday, hitting $24.34. The company had a trading volume of 438,406 shares. The company has a 50-day moving average of $27.69 and a 200 day moving average of $28.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion and a PE ratio of 12.61. Hancock Holding Company has a 12 month low of $23.35 and a 12 month high of $32.98.

Hancock Holding Company (NASDAQ:HBHC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.52. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Hancock Holding Company will post $1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Hancock Holding Company stock. KBC Group acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Holding Company (NASDAQ:HBHC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $58,000.The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%.

In other Hancock Holding Company news, Director George A. Schloegel acquired 4,000 shares of Hancock Holding Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.48 per share, with a total value of $109,920.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,970.88. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. FIG Partners upgraded shares of Hancock Holding Company from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Stephens cut shares of Hancock Holding Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 9th. TheStreet cut shares of Hancock Holding Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 7th. RBC Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Hancock Holding Company from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Jaffray initiated coverage on shares of Hancock Holding Company in a report on Tuesday, December 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Hancock Holding Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.88.

Hancock Holding Company (NASDAQ:HBHC) is a financial services company that provides a network of service financial choices to the Gulf South region through its bank subsidiary, Whitney Bank, a Mississippi state bank. Whitney Bank operates under brands: Hancock Bank in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida and Whitney Bank in Louisiana and Texas. The Bank operates across the Gulf South region consisting of southern Mississippi; southern and central Alabama; southern Louisiana; the northern, central, and panhandle regions of Florida, and Houston, Texas. The Bank offers a range of traditional and online community banking services to commercial, small business and retail customers, providing a variety of transaction and savings deposit products, treasury management services, investment brokerage services, secured and unsecured loan products, and letters of credit and financial guarantees. It also provides trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations and individuals.

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