Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.50

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a dividend of 0.50 per share on Monday, March 16th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This is a 11.1% increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45.

Hancock Whitney has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Hancock Whitney has a payout ratio of 31.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Hancock Whitney to earn $5.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.7%.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 0.0%

HWC traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.75. 207,895 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 829,161. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.01. Hancock Whitney has a one year low of $43.90 and a one year high of $71.20.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 11.16%. The company had revenue of $81.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HWC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays began coverage on Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.25.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ: HWC) is a regional financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi. The firm was established in April 2019 through the merger of Hancock Holding Company and Whitney Holding Corporation, each of which traced its roots to the late 19th century. This combination created one of the largest bank holding companies in the Gulf South region, with a network of branches serving both urban and rural communities.

The company’s core business activities include commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.