Raymond James Financial Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation by 4.5%, owning 181,738 shares valued at approximately $9.53 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Hancock Whitney recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, with a yield of 2.9%, to be paid on September 15th, following a record date of September 5th.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Hancock Whitney, with one firm lowering its rating to "sell", while others maintain a "strong-buy" or "buy" rating, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.63.

Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 181,738 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,818 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.21% of Hancock Whitney worth $9,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 554.6% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 707 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 1,132.1% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 998 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 917 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 115.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth $92,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC traded up $0.68 during trading on Thursday, hitting $63.03. The company had a trading volume of 106,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 710,739. The stock has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 1.13. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a one year low of $43.90 and a one year high of $64.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HWC has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $63.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.63.

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.