StockNews.com Upgrades Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $72.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of HWC opened at $53.69 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Hancock Whitney has a 1 year low of $41.56 and a 1 year high of $62.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.31. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 1.24.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced 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 net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.09%.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HWC. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth $251,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 7.3% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 9,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $510,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the third quarter valued at about $1,445,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 179.7% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 26,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after acquiring an additional 16,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 20.7% in the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 31,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,621,000 after acquiring an additional 5,441 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.