Great Lakes Advisors LLC Invests $10.58 Million in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 141,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,584,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 70.9% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $78.25 on Wednesday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.05 and a 1 year high of $80.13. The stock has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.01.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.55. The business had revenue of $403.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.89 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 21.81%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $28,005.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,683,432.56. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 22,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total transaction of $1,728,828.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,364,108.80. The trade was a 33.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HWC shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group cut shares of Hancock Whitney from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, June 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.78.

Hancock Whitney Company 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.