Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Purchases 14,008 Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 46.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 44,096 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,008 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $2,761,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 30,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,923,000 after buying an additional 811 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the third quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 3.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 13,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $876,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 21,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 44,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 6,646 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ HWC opened at $68.80 on Friday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.90 and a 12 month high of $71.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $65.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.07. The stock has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 1.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 11.16%. The company had revenue of $81.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is 31.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total value of $358,415.39. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,283,449.57. This represents a 13.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.25.

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.