Edgestream Partners L.P. Makes New $8.46 Million Investment in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 132,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,456,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $6,070,000. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at about $576,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 0.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,790,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,652,000 after acquiring an additional 21,655 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,520,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 18,614.2% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 535,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,071,000 after acquiring an additional 532,180 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $76.98 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $72.66 and its 200 day moving average is $69.00. The firm has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.80. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 52-week low of $54.05 and a 52-week high of $79.36.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.55. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The company had revenue of $403.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $398.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. Hancock Whitney’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HWC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered Hancock Whitney from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold 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 $83.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 22,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total transaction of $1,728,828.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,160 shares in the company, valued at $3,364,108.80. The trade was a 33.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total value of $28,005.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,683,432.56. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ: HWC) is a regional financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi. The firm was established in April 2019 through the merger of Hancock Holding Company and Whitney Holding Corporation, each of which traced its roots to the late 19th century. This combination created one of the largest bank holding companies in the Gulf South region, with a network of branches serving both urban and rural communities.

The company’s core business activities include commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.