Boston Partners Boosts Stock Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 729,741 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,189 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned 0.85% of Hancock Whitney worth $40,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $52.34 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $41.56 and a 52-week high of $62.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.27.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on HWC. StockNews.com raised Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, 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 research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.56.

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.