Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 435,410 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the previous session’s volume of 506,750 shares.The stock last traded at $51.78 and had previously closed at $51.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.0 %

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $56.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.25. The company has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HWC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,097,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $552,539,000 after purchasing an additional 181,706 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,297,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,917,000 after purchasing an additional 73,316 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 stake in shares of 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. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,321,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,300,000 after purchasing an additional 193,028 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.