Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.10 EPS

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10, Zacks reports. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HWC traded up $1.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 950,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 577,973. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $41.56 and a fifty-two week high of $62.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $53.51 and its 200-day moving average is $55.18. The firm has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 0.99.

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 represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.56.

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.