Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 20,028 Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 20,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWC. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter valued at $251,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 7.3% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 9,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth $1,445,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 179.7% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 26,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 16,916 shares during the period. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 20.7% during the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 31,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,621,000 after purchasing an additional 5,441 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.1 %

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $53.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $57.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.29. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52 week low of $41.56 and a 52 week high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.