New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Buys New Holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 11.4% in 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 last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 2.1 %

HWC stock opened at $52.97 on Thursday. Hancock Whitney Co. has a fifty-two week low of $41.56 and a fifty-two week high of $62.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $55.97 and a 200-day moving average of $55.43. The company has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

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

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. 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.