US Bancorp DE Purchases 265 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,581 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,096,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 38,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,081,000 after purchasing an additional 6,345 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 27,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 3.2 %

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $51.21 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $57.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.32. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52-week low of $41.56 and a 52-week high of $62.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 1.24.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

Hancock Whitney 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.