Intech Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 62,038 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,149 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $3,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 929.5% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 453 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 6,107.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 807 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. Amundi bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, 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 valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 trade represents a 13.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HWC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays assumed coverage on Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.63.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 5.9%

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $65.81 on Monday. 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 $5.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 1.05. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.90 and a 52 week high of $75.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.68.

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

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 31.69%.

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.