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

Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.56.

HWC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 research 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC opened at $46.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.99. Hancock Whitney has a 52 week low of $41.56 and a 52 week high of $62.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $55.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.41. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

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.