Federated Hermes Inc. Increases Stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 4.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 38,149 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at about $386,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,846,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 2,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth approximately $357,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In other news, Director Frank E. Bertucci sold 2,053 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total value of $117,082.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,286,254.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC opened at $51.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.59. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52-week low of $32.16 and a 52-week high of $57.78.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $359.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $359.11 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 18.63% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HWC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.67.

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.