Rhumbline Advisers Boosts Stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 306,268 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,933 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $17,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 929.5% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 453 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney during the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 6,107.7% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 807 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $60.61 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1 year low of $43.90 and a 1 year high of $64.66. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 1.18.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $175.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.32 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 23.99% and a return on equity of 11.29%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 32.20%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HWC. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Monday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.14.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In related news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 9,894 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.86, for a total transaction of $542,784.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,733 shares in the company, valued at $3,057,512.38. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

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.