Sterling Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 280.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,636 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,606 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Hancock Whitney worth $2,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth $54,605,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth about $12,937,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 149.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 321,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,435,000 after acquiring an additional 192,295 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,097,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,539,000 after acquiring an additional 181,706 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $9,517,000. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Stephens reissued 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $46.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.17. Hancock Whitney Co. has a fifty-two week low of $41.56 and a fifty-two week high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

Hancock Whitney Company 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.