From a technical perspective, Hancock Whitney Corporation (HWC Quick QuoteHWC - Free Report) is looking like an interesting pick, as it just reached a key level of support. HWC's 50-day simple moving average crossed above its 200-day simple moving average, which is known as a "golden cross" in the trading world.

There's a reason traders love a golden cross -- it's a technical chart pattern that can indicate a bullish breakout is on the horizon. This kind of crossover is formed when a stock's short-term moving average breaks above a longer-term moving average. Typically, a golden cross involves the 50-day and the 200-day moving averages, since bigger time periods tend to form stronger breakouts.

Golden crosses have three key stages that investors look out for. It starts with a downtrend in a stock's price that eventually bottoms out, followed by the stock's shorter moving average crossing over its longer moving average and triggering a trend reversal. The final stage is when a stock continues the upward climb to higher prices.

This kind of chart pattern is the opposite of a death cross, which is a technical event that suggests future bearish price movement.

Over the past four weeks, HWC has gained 11.4%. The company currently sits at a #2 (Buy) on the Zacks Rank, also indicating that the stock could be poised for a breakout.

The bullish case only gets stronger once investors take into account HWC's positive earnings outlook for the current quarter. There have been 6 upwards revisions compared to none lower over the past 60 days, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate has moved up as well.

With a winning combination of earnings estimate revisions and hitting a key technical level, investors should keep their eye on HWC for more gains in the near future.