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

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

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HWC. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $72.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 554.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth about $92,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $46.20 on Wednesday. Hancock Whitney has a twelve month low of $41.56 and a twelve month high of $62.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $54.68 and a 200-day moving average of $55.27.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.45 dividend. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.09%.

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.