Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Invests $1.17 Million in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,169,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HWC. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 6.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 25,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,586,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 21,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HWC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total transaction of $358,415.39. Following the transaction, the insider owned 33,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,283,449.57. This trade represents a 13.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock opened at $71.18 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.36. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 12-month low of $43.90 and a 12-month high of $75.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.01. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 24.05%.The business had revenue of $81.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.63 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 31.69%.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ: HWC) is a regional financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi. The firm was established in April 2019 through the merger of Hancock Holding Company and Whitney Holding Corporation, each of which traced its roots to the late 19th century. This combination created one of the largest bank holding companies in the Gulf South region, with a network of branches serving both urban and rural communities.

The company’s core business activities include commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.