Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Receives $62.56 Average PT from Analysts

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $62.56.

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

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,000. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of HWC opened at $59.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 1.27. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $57.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.61. Hancock Whitney has a fifty-two week low of $41.56 and a fifty-two week high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 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 last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.30%.

Hancock Whitney Company 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.