Great Lakes Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 264,006 shares of the company's stock after selling 112,445 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned 0.31% of Hancock Whitney worth $14,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in 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 buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,581 shares of the company's stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Hancock Whitney Trading Up 3.2 %
Shares of HWC traded up $1.60 on Friday, hitting $51.21. 561,810 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 503,866. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's 50 day moving average is $57.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.31. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1 year low of $41.56 and a 1 year high of $62.40.
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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.
Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is 34.09%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $72.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.56.
Check Out Our Latest Report on HWC
About Hancock Whitney
(
Free Report)
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.
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