Great Lakes Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 21.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 186,748 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,412 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Hancock Whitney worth $11,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWC. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 2.7% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 30,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,923,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the third quarter valued at $214,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 13,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 21,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 44,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 6,646 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $68.78 on Friday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.90 and a 52 week high of $71.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total transaction of $358,415.39. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on HWC shares. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.25.

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.