Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 435,410 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 14% from the previous session's volume of 506,750 shares.The stock last traded at $51.78 and had previously closed at $51.98.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms recently commented on HWC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Raymond James reiterated 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.56.
Read Our Latest Analysis on HWC
Hancock Whitney Stock Performance
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The business's fifty day moving average price is $56.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 1.24.
Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.09%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,097,563 shares of the company's stock worth $552,539,000 after purchasing an additional 181,706 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,297,776 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,917,000 after buying an additional 73,316 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,149,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,016,000 after buying an additional 30,239 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,898,504 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,557,000 after buying an additional 12,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,321,280 shares of the company's stock worth $72,300,000 after buying an additional 193,028 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.
About Hancock Whitney
(
Get 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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