Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 5,111 Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers has increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney Corporation by 12.3% during the first quarter, now owning approximately $2.45 million worth of shares.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, representing a 3.1% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 33.15%.
• Hancock Whitney's shares opened at $58.61 and analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $66.71.

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,775 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,111 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers owned about 0.05% of Hancock Whitney worth $2,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Princeton Capital Management LLC increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 15.6% during the first quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 5,200 shares of the company's stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the first quarter worth $210,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 88.6% during the first quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 132,345 shares of the company's stock worth $6,941,000 after buying an additional 62,155 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 1.4% during the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 239,625 shares of the company's stock worth $12,568,000 after buying an additional 3,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 2.8% during the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 11,885 shares of the company's stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HWC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Hovde Group raised their price target on Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Stephens lowered their price target on Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.71.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

HWC stock traded up $0.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $58.25. 587,495 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 883,658. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a twelve month low of $43.90 and a twelve month high of $62.90. The company has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.01. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 23.28%. The business had revenue of $377.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $375.99 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.15%.

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.