Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 187,782 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,280 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned 0.22% of Hancock Whitney worth $10,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 149.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 321,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,435,000 after purchasing an additional 192,295 shares during the period. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 36.8% in the third quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 607,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,072,000 after buying an additional 163,438 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 21.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 551,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,227,000 after buying an additional 96,092 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,297,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,917,000 after buying an additional 73,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 692,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,429,000 after acquiring an additional 55,869 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $57.13 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 1.27. Hancock Whitney Co. has a fifty-two week low of $41.56 and a fifty-two week high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. Analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on HWC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $72.00 target price (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.56.

About Hancock Whitney

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.