Readystate Asset Management LP Purchases Shares of 41,276 Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 41,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,000. Readystate Asset Management LP owned 0.05% of Hancock Whitney as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 70.9% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 67.6% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $76.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09 and a beta of 0.95. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1-year low of $54.05 and a 1-year high of $79.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.55. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 21.81%.The firm had revenue of $403.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $398.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 39.22%.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 22,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total transaction of $1,728,828.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,364,108.80. This trade represents a 33.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total value of $28,005.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,683,432.56. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HWC. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Hovde Group cut Hancock Whitney from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.56.

About Hancock Whitney

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.