Boston Partners Boosts Stock Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 729,741 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,189 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $40,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HWC. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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 upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Stephens restated 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. Three investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $52.34 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $56.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.27. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Hancock Whitney Co. has a one year low of $41.56 and a one year high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 34.09%.

Hancock Whitney Company 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.