Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. Has $17.63 Million Stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 322,168 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,389 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney comprises 1.4% of Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $17,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HWC. Norges Bank bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at $54,605,000. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at $12,937,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 69.5% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 544,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,795,000 after acquiring an additional 223,275 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,097,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $552,539,000 after purchasing an additional 181,706 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth about $9,517,000. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens reduced their price target on Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.56.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of HWC opened at $48.65 on Friday. Hancock Whitney Co. has a twelve month low of $43.60 and a twelve month high of $62.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.57 and a 200-day moving average of $55.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%. The company had revenue of $367.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.12 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.21%.

About Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Corporation operates as the financial holding company for Hancock Whitney Bank that provides traditional and online banking services to commercial, small business, and retail customers. It offers various transaction and savings deposit products consisting of brokered deposits, time deposits, and money market accounts; treasury management services, secured and unsecured loan products including revolving credit facilities, and letters of credit and similar financial guarantees; and trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations, and individuals, and investment advisory and brokerage products.