Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Reaches New 1-Year 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)'s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. 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 $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is 33.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 0.0%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $59.64 and a 200-day moving average of $55.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 1.11.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $377.98 million for 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $428,000. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $247,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 51.1% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 36.4% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 79.2% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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