Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Raises Dividend to $0.40 Per Share

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a dividend of 0.40 per share on Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30.

Hancock Whitney has increased its dividend by an average of 3.6% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 1 years. Hancock Whitney has a dividend payout ratio of 23.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Hancock Whitney to earn $5.00 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.0%.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Hancock Whitney stock traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.74. 666,278 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 512,407. The company has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.88. Hancock Whitney has a 1 year low of $31.02 and a 1 year high of $49.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $158,166.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,285 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,897.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on HWC. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $52.00 target price (down from $55.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.71.

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.