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

Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nine brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $62.56.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HWC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $72.00 price target (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock traded down $0.05 on Friday, hitting $53.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 724,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 501,292. 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 has a 1 year low of $41.56 and a 1 year high of $62.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.29. The company has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 1.24.

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Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be 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 dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney's payout ratio is currently 34.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.