Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.40

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Investors 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 annualized dividend 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 raised its dividend by an average of 3.6% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Hancock Whitney has a payout ratio of 23.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 Stock Performance

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock traded up $0.56 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 666,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 512,407. Hancock Whitney has a 52 week low of $31.02 and a 52 week high of $49.65. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $43.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.88. The firm has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HWC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $52.00 price target (down previously from $55.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.71.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,897.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.