Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Short Interest Down 5.1% in January

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) was the target of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,250,000 shares, a drop of 5.1% from the December 31st total of 2,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 529,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 1.5 %

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $58.84 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $57.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 1.27. Hancock Whitney has a twelve month low of $41.19 and a twelve month high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney will post 5.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HWC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total value of $1,069,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 254,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,099,305.44. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,297,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,917,000 after acquiring an additional 73,316 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,149,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,016,000 after purchasing an additional 30,239 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,898,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,557,000 after purchasing an additional 12,172 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,154,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,093,000 after purchasing an additional 46,622 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 692,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,429,000 after acquiring an additional 55,869 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

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.