Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.56.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $72.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $59.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $57.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.61. Hancock Whitney has a 52-week low of $41.56 and a 52-week high of $62.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (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 last year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. 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 yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 30.30%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake 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 worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hancock Whitney

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.