Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Acquires Shares of 18,667 Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 18,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,169,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 6.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 25,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,586,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 21,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 3.7% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HWC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.25.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of HWC opened at $71.18 on Monday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a twelve month low of $43.90 and a twelve month high of $75.43. The stock has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.36.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $81.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.63 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 11.16%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In related news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total value of $358,415.39. Following the sale, the insider owned 33,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,283,449.57. This trade represents a 13.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.91% 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.