Teacher Retirement System of Texas Buys 1,944 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 40,585 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,944 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $2,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HWC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 21.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 551,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,227,000 after purchasing an additional 96,092 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth $1,096,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,228,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,235,000 after acquiring an additional 73,875 shares during the period. Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $696,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1,987.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 51,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,814,000 after acquiring an additional 48,957 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $54.10 on Thursday. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 12 month low of $41.56 and a 12 month high of $62.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on HWC shares. StockNews.com raised Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price target (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.56.

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.