Short Interest in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Expands By 8.5%

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,670,000 shares, a growth of 8.5% from the January 15th total of 2,460,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 584,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth $54,605,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth $24,775,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth $13,796,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth $12,937,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 69.5% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 544,471 shares of the company's stock worth $29,795,000 after buying an additional 223,275 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 2.2 %

HWC stock traded down $1.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $56.82. 561,714 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 652,853. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.85. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a PE ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 1.27. Hancock Whitney has a 1-year low of $41.56 and a 1-year high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. 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.