Xponance Inc. Increases Stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,260 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 535 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Partners boosted 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 valued at $40,533,000 after purchasing an additional 32,189 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 122.0% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 63,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,466,000 after buying an additional 34,811 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 594,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,548,000 after buying an additional 14,545 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $444,000. Finally, Ironwood Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

HWC stock opened at $53.83 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 12 month low of $41.56 and a 12 month high of $62.40. The stock has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $56.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.32.

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 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 last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 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.