Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 283,722 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 87,227 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $17,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter valued at $410,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 3.5% in the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 145,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,359,000 after acquiring an additional 4,873 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 13,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 83.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 850,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,827,000 after acquiring an additional 385,784 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth about $544,000. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $74.41 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 1.05. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.54. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a twelve month low of $43.90 and a twelve month high of $75.43.

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

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 35.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HWC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In related news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total value of $358,415.39. Following the sale, the insider owned 33,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,283,449.57. This represents a 13.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

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.