Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Sets New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corporation reached a new 52-week high after announcing a $0.45 dividend, which will be paid on September 15th to shareholders of record on September 5th.
• Analyst ratings have been largely positive, with price targets raised by firms like Piper Sandler and Citigroup, reflecting a consensus target price of $67.63 for the stock.
• The company reported earnings of $1.37 per share for its most recent quarter, exceeding expectations and demonstrating a strong financial performance.

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $64.25 and last traded at $63.52, with a volume of 657680 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $63.54.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Hancock Whitney's payout ratio is currently 33.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on HWC. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Hancock Whitney from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.63.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.67. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.01. The company 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the second quarter worth approximately $428,000. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the second quarter worth approximately $247,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 51.1% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 13,155 shares of the company's stock worth $755,000 after buying an additional 4,448 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 36.4% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 14,111 shares of the company's stock worth $810,000 after buying an additional 3,769 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 79.2% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 20,584 shares of the company's stock worth $1,182,000 after buying an additional 9,099 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.