Norges Bank Buys Shares of 997,906 Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 997,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,605,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.16% of Hancock Whitney as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the company's stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.2 %

HWC stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.20. 1,432,707 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 566,920. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.99. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52-week low of $41.56 and a 52-week high of $62.40. The business has a 50 day moving average of $54.68 and a 200-day moving average of $55.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

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Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors 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 boost from Hancock Whitney's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Hancock Whitney's payout ratio is currently 34.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HWC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. 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. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney 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.