Boston Partners Grows Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Boston Partners raised its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 729,741 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,189 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned about 0.85% of Hancock Whitney worth $40,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HWC. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,358 shares of the company's stock worth $1,221,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted 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 worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HWC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC stock traded up $1.96 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $54.26. The company had a trading volume of 924,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 516,050. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52-week low of $41.56 and a 52-week high of $62.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $56.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.27. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 1.24.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.