Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Position Trimmed by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 32.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,751 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,041 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of HWC. Barclays PLC grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 607,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,072,000 after acquiring an additional 163,438 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 21.1% during 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,297,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,917,000 after purchasing an additional 73,316 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its position 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 worth $35,429,000 after purchasing an additional 55,869 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

NASDAQ HWC opened at $56.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $57.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.07. Hancock Whitney Co. has a fifty-two week low of $41.56 and a fifty-two week high of $62.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HWC has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.