Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Shares Acquired by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 201.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,929 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,719 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.06% of Hancock Whitney worth $2,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 22.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 59,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,746,000 after purchasing an additional 10,810 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 268.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Finally, DMC Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 26.0% in the second quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 5,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $58.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.97 and a 200-day moving average of $51.21. Hancock Whitney Co. has a one year low of $41.19 and a one year high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $525.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.54 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 35.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Carleton Richard Wilkins sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $40,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,900 shares in the company, valued at $810,105. This represents a 4.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total transaction of $1,069,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,099,305.44. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,994 shares of company stock worth $1,593,710. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.00.

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.