902,367 Shares in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 902,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,463,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWC. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake 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 during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the third quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Amundi bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the first quarter worth about $50,000. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $28,005.72. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

HWC opened at $69.38 on Monday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 52-week low of $52.93 and a 52-week high of $75.43. 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 company has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $66.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.17.

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

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 41.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.14.

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.