Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Position Boosted by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,572 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 149.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 321,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,435,000 after purchasing an additional 192,295 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 17,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $972,000 after buying an additional 1,334 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $223,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 72,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 7,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total transaction of $40,299.42. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,983.71. This trade represents a 3.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com raised Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $62.00 price target (down previously from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.25.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $54.75 on Friday. 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 Co. has a one year low of $43.60 and a one year high of $62.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $51.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a PE ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 1.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%. The firm had revenue of $367.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.12 million. As a group, analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.21%.

Hancock Whitney 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.