Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,992,223 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,011 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 2.30% of Hancock Whitney worth $91,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,192,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,670,000 after acquiring an additional 95,432 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,749,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,786,000 after acquiring an additional 249,944 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 7.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,184,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,822,000 after acquiring an additional 142,465 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,087,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,847,000 after acquiring an additional 48,174 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $46,846,000. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total value of $59,306.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,982 shares in the company, valued at $1,094,058.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total transaction of $39,516.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 58,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,755,029.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total transaction of $59,306.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,982 shares in the company, valued at $1,094,058.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.7 %

HWC stock traded up $0.32 on Tuesday, hitting $47.59. 20,495 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 477,721. Hancock Whitney Co. has a twelve month low of $32.16 and a twelve month high of $49.65. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.10. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The company had revenue of $354.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.15 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 4.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 37.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on HWC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, May 31st. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.88.

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.