Salzhauer Michael Increases Stock Position in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC)

Salzhauer Michael lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,196 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Salzhauer Michael’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 554.6% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1,132.1% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 998 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 115.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on HWC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.25.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total value of $40,299.42. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,983.71. This trade represents a 3.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $55.91 on Thursday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.90 and a 52 week high of $62.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $54.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 1.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $367.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.12 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.43% and a net margin of 23.15%. Research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 33.21%.

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.