CSM Advisors LLC Purchases 14,126 Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

CSM Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 9.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,719 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,126 shares during the period. CSM Advisors LLC owned about 0.19% of Hancock Whitney worth $9,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Amundi purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the first quarter valued at $50,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the second quarter valued at about $58,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the third quarter valued at about $82,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 78.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 710 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 215.5% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock opened at $61.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.83. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a one year low of $43.90 and a one year high of $75.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is 35.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HWC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total value of $358,415.39. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,283,449.57. The trade was a 13.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hancock Whitney 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.