Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 435,410 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the previous session’s volume of 506,750 shares.The stock last traded at $51.78 and had previously closed at $51.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HWC. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Finally, Raymond James reiterated 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.91 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 is $56.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.26.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HWC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,605,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $24,775,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,796,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,937,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 544,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,795,000 after buying an additional 223,275 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

About Hancock Whitney

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.