8,104 Shares in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Purchased by Bayforest Capital Ltd

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd invested $425,000 in Hancock Whitney Corporation by purchasing 8,104 shares during the 1st quarter, enhancing institutional ownership which now stands at 81.22%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Hancock Whitney, with an average target price of $66.71, while Hovde Group recently increased their price objective to $72.00 with an "outperform" rating.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 to be paid on September 15th, which equates to an annual yield of 2.99% and a payout ratio of 33.15%.

Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 8,104 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $425,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at $54,605,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the first quarter valued at about $43,019,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,775,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth $13,796,000. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at about $12,937,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HWC has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Hovde Group boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Hancock Whitney from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $63.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.71.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

NASDAQ HWC traded up $0.97 during trading on Monday, reaching $58.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 362,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 726,984. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.90 and a 12 month high of $62.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $57.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $377.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $375.99 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 23.28% and a return on equity of 11.21%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Hancock Whitney's payout ratio is 33.15%.

Hancock Whitney 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.