Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Short Interest Update

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,250,000 shares, a decline of 5.1% from the December 31st total of 2,370,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 529,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HWC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $72.00 target price (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

NASDAQ HWC traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $60.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 210,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 677,034. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.36. Hancock Whitney has a 52 week low of $41.19 and a 52 week high of $62.40. The stock has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 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 last year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.30%.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total transaction of $1,069,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 254,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,099,305.44. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 31.2% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,241 shares of the company's stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 3,865 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth $813,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 20,174 shares of the company's stock worth $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 170.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the company's stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the third quarter valued at about $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company's stock.

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.