Arizona State Retirement System Trims Holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 24,076 shares of the company’s stock after selling 432 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HWC. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 13.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,791,000 after acquiring an additional 96,522 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 4.2% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 122,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,516,000 after acquiring an additional 4,886 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 16.0% during the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,407,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,064,000 after acquiring an additional 194,100 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,039,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,449,000 after acquiring an additional 14,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 5.8% in the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 443,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,388,000 after purchasing an additional 24,290 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 9,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.15, for a total transaction of $464,757.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,996.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 4,042 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.28, for a total transaction of $183,021.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 40,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,811,924.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 9,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.15, for a total value of $464,757.55. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,996.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,225 shares of company stock valued at $1,634,014. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $42.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $43.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 1.33. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1 year low of $31.02 and a 1 year high of $49.65.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $308.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $355.51 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 12.54% and a net margin of 20.57%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HWC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, March 31st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Raymond James raised their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.75.

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.