California State Teachers Retirement System Grows Stock Holdings in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Hancock Whitney stake by 23.3% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 99,057 shares valued at approximately $6.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 81.22% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Hancock Whitney carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $83.78. Recent targets range from $85 to $91.
• Hancock Whitney reported quarterly EPS of $1.55 and revenue of $403.57 million, up 6.9% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing a 2.6% annualized yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 23.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,057 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,738 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.12% of Hancock Whitney worth $6,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,070,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,790,954 shares of the company's stock worth $304,652,000 after acquiring an additional 21,655 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,714,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,520,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 18,614.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 535,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,071,000 after acquiring an additional 532,180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HWC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reduced their target price on Hancock Whitney from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson upped their price target on Hancock Whitney from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings cut Hancock Whitney from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $28,005.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,683,432.56. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 22,694 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total transaction of $1,728,828.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,364,108.80. The trade was a 33.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock opened at $78.32 on Thursday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1-year low of $54.05 and a 1-year high of $79.36. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $73.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.95.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 21.81%.The company had revenue of $403.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $398.89 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. Hancock Whitney's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Hancock Whitney's payout ratio is presently 39.22%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HWC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source