Hancock Holding Above Consensus But Below Wunderlich Securities Estimate; Rating And PT Maintained

Wunderlich Securities is reiterating its Buy rating on shares of Hancock Holding Company

and its price target of $36. “HBHC reported 3Q10 EPS of $0.40, which was $0.05 above consensus but $0.03 below our estimate,” Wunderlich Securities writes. “The shortfall relative to our estimate was primarily driven by slightly higher provisioning levels than we had projected and a somewhat lower NIM than we had forecast.” Hancock remains abundantly capitalized with significant excess liquidity on its balance sheet, Wunderlich Securities says, “and we believe Hancock is poised for growth in its current and target markets via additional FDIC-assisted acquisitions and potential open-bank consolidation.” Hancock Holding currently trades for $32.15.