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

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Shareholders 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 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% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 1 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 hours on Friday, reaching $46.74. The company had a trading volume of 666,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 512,407. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.84 and a 200 day moving average of $42.88. Hancock Whitney has a 1-year low of $31.02 and a 1-year high of $49.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 1.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HWC has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. 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, Hancock Whitney currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

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

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.