Intech Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 122.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,348 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 34,811 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of Hancock Whitney worth $3,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HWC. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HWC. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $52.34 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.27. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 1.24. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52 week low of $41.56 and a 52 week high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.09%.

Hancock Whitney Profile

Hancock Whitney Corporation operates as the financial holding company for Hancock Whitney Bank that provides traditional and online banking services to commercial, small business, and retail customers. It offers various transaction and savings deposit products consisting of brokered deposits, time deposits, and money market accounts; treasury management services, secured and unsecured loan products including revolving credit facilities, and letters of credit and similar financial guarantees; and trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations, and individuals, and investment advisory and brokerage products.