Bank of Montreal Can Boosts Stock Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,733 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,097,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,539,000 after purchasing an additional 181,706 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,898,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,557,000 after buying an additional 12,172 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,228,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,235,000 after buying an additional 73,875 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,605,000. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 729,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,533,000 after acquiring an additional 32,189 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $48.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 0.99. 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 1-year low of $43.60 and a 1-year high of $62.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $52.57 and a 200-day moving average of $55.11.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $367.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $368.12 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is 33.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HWC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target (down previously from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Stephens reduced their target price on Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.56.

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.