Renaissance Technologies LLC Lowers Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 83.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,873 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,500 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salzhauer Michael grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 31.9% in the 2nd quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 20,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $997,000 after purchasing an additional 5,041 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,980,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,197,000 after purchasing an additional 167,304 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 38,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,401,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,015,000 after acquiring an additional 237,526 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $52.50 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $50.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.34. Hancock Whitney Co. has a twelve month low of $32.16 and a twelve month high of $57.78. The stock has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35 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.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 18.63%. The company’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 37.65%.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In related news, Director Frank E. Bertucci sold 2,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $117,082.59. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,286,254.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HWC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Hancock Whitney from $48.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Truist Financial cut their price target on 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, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.