Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Shares Bought by BTC Capital Management Inc.

BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,121 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 311 shares during the quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HWC. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 8.8% in the third 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. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter worth $844,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 66.7% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 33,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,694,000 after buying an additional 13,243 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth about $2,605,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 551,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,227,000 after acquiring an additional 96,092 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total transaction of $1,069,920.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 254,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,099,305.44. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC opened at $59.74 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $57.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.21. The stock has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 1.27. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 12-month low of $41.19 and a 12-month high of $62.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.39 EPS 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 is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.