Hancock Whitney Corporation (HWC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.50 on March 16th

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 29th. Shareholders 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 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 raised its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Hancock Whitney has a dividend payout ratio of 31.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Stock Up 0.0%

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $68.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 1.05. Hancock Whitney has a 1-year low of $43.90 and a 1-year high of $71.20. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HWC shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays started coverage on Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.