Acadian Asset Management LLC Invests $117,000 in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 72.6% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 151,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,353,000 after purchasing an additional 63,641 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the first quarter worth $1,159,000. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 710,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,511,000 after buying an additional 25,215 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 96.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 51,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after buying an additional 25,241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,226,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,801,000 after buying an additional 34,152 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ HWC opened at $51.43 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $51.55 and its 200 day moving average is $47.59. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.26. Hancock Whitney Co. has a twelve month low of $32.16 and a twelve month high of $57.78.

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

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Frank E. Bertucci sold 2,053 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,554 shares in the company, valued at $1,286,254.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HWC shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of 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 lowered their price target on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Hovde Group upped their target price on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.67.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

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.