Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC Shares Purchased by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWC. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Amundi purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the first quarter worth approximately $50,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 115.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 15.4% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 6.0%

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $58.76 on Thursday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1-year low of $43.90 and a 1-year high of $64.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $62.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.45.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.06. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.44% and a net margin of 23.99%.The company had revenue of $0.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.32 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HWC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $69.86.

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.