Barclays PLC Grows Stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 69.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 544,471 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 223,275 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.63% of Hancock Whitney worth $29,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at about $54,605,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at about $12,937,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,097,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,539,000 after purchasing an additional 181,706 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,517,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 551,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,227,000 after purchasing an additional 96,092 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $48.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 0.99. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1-year low of $42.51 and a 1-year high of $62.40. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $52.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.07.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $367.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $368.12 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%. On average, research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 34.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on HWC shares. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson reduced 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. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective (down from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.56.

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.