By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC – Free Report) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 17,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $930,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 551,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,227,000 after acquiring an additional 96,092 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth about $1,096,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,228,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,235,000 after purchasing an additional 73,875 shares in the last quarter. Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $696,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1,987.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 51,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,814,000 after purchasing an additional 48,957 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.56.
Read Our Latest Analysis on HWC
Hancock Whitney Stock Performance
Shares of HWC stock opened at $52.45 on Tuesday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.43. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52 week low of $41.56 and a 52 week high of $62.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a PE ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.24.
Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.
Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.09%.
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.
See Also
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