Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Receives $62.56 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings 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 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.56.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HWC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at $54,605,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,775,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,796,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,937,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 69.5% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 544,471 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,795,000 after buying an additional 223,275 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of HWC traded down $1.48 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $46.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,352,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 559,111. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.99. The company's 50-day moving average is $55.48 and its 200 day moving average is $55.41. Hancock Whitney has a 12-month low of $41.56 and a 12-month high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 period last year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

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

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.