New York State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 6,980 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,657 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,980 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.17% of Hancock Whitney worth $8,135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,297,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,917,000 after buying an additional 73,316 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,149,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,016,000 after acquiring an additional 30,239 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,898,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,557,000 after acquiring an additional 12,172 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 4.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,154,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,093,000 after purchasing an additional 46,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 8.8% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 692,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,429,000 after purchasing an additional 55,869 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $59.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.27. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52 week low of $41.56 and a 52 week high of $62.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $57.65 and its 200-day moving average is $54.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is 30.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HWC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price target (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price objective (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.56.

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.