Bessemer Group Inc. Has $30.70 Million Stock Holdings in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 4.8% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 482,699 shares valued at about $30.7 million.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: several firms raised or maintained favorable views, and the stock now has a consensus “Buy” rating with an average target price of $80.50.
• Hancock Whitney recently beat quarterly EPS estimates, paid a $0.50 per share dividend, and shares were trading near their 52-week high at $78.46.

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 482,699 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,009 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.59% of Hancock Whitney worth $30,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HWC. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 70.9% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HWC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Hovde Group cut Hancock Whitney from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $74.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Benchmark initiated coverage on Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $28,005.72. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,683,432.56. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $78.46 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $70.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.36. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1-year low of $54.05 and a 1-year high of $79.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.04. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.20% and a net margin of 21.34%.The company had revenue of $393.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.01 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.07%.

Hancock Whitney 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.

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