William Blair Investment Management LLC Purchases 47,297 Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 634,468 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,297 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 0.76% of Hancock Whitney worth $40,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 84,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HWC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Hancock Whitney from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research cut Hancock Whitney from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Hancock Whitney from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.14.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

HWC stock opened at $67.50 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86 and a beta of 0.97. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a twelve month low of $52.89 and a twelve month high of $75.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.48.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $393.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.01 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.20% and a net margin of 21.34%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.07%.

Hancock Whitney 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.