Cibc World Markets Corp Buys Shares of 8,121 Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 8,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HWC. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $52.30 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $56.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Hancock Whitney Co. has a one year low of $41.56 and a one year high of $62.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 1.24.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.