Earnings Preview For Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney HWC releases its next round of earnings this Tuesday, July 20. Here is Benzinga's essential guide to Hancock Whitney's Q2 earnings report.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, And Earnings Per Share?

Earnings and especially earnings per share (EPS) are useful measures of a company's profitability. Total earnings, which is also referred to as net income, equals total revenue minus total expenses. EPS equals to net income divided by the number of shares outstanding.

Earnings And Revenue

Based on management's projections, Hancock Whitney analysts model for earnings of $1.11 per share on sales of $318.09 million. Hancock Whitney earnings in the same period a year ago was $0.11 per share. Quarterly sales came in at $315.06 million.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

Analysts who cover this company will publish forward-looking estimates of its revenue and EPS each quarter. Averaging together every EPS and revenue prediction that each analyst makes about a company in a quarter yields the "consensus estimates." A company posting earnings or revenue above or below the consensus estimate is known as an "earnings surprise" and may move the stock by a considerable margin.

The Wall Street estimate would represent a 909.09% increase in the company's earnings. Revenue would be up 0.96% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Hancock Whitney were trading at $42.14 as of July 16. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 111.46%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be content going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Hancock Whitney is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.