Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 4,302 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,570 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,302 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.11% of Hancock Whitney worth $5,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HWC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price target (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $51.86 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $41.56 and a 52-week high of $62.40. The stock has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $56.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.45.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

Hancock Whitney Profile

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.