William Blair Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 446,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,393,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.56% of Hancock Whitney as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 70.9% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

HWC opened at $75.38 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $75.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.15. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.05 and a 1 year high of $80.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 0.95.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $403.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is 39.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Hovde Group cut shares of Hancock Whitney from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hancock Whitney news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 22,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total value of $1,728,828.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,160 shares in the company, valued at $3,364,108.80. This trade represents a 33.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Emory L. Mayfield, Jr. sold 4,990 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.40, for a total transaction of $381,236.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,166. This represents a 24.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

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.