Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.40 Per Share

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

Hancock Whitney has raised its dividend by an average of 3.6% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Hancock Whitney has a payout ratio of 23.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Trading Up 1.2 %

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HWC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 price target (down previously from $55.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $158,166.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,897.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.