Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 6,437 Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation by 0.1%, now holding approximately 4.93 million shares valued at $258.61 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Principal Financial Group and Allspring Global Investments, have also adjusted their positions in Hancock Whitney, contributing to an overall institutional ownership of 81.22%.
• Hancock Whitney plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.45 on September 15th, with a current annualized dividend yield of 3.0%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 0.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,930,737 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,437 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.72% of Hancock Whitney worth $258,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 554.6% in 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 during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 1,132.1% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 998 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in 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. acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at $92,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HWC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $63.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.71.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC traded up $3.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $63.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,155,526 shares, compared to its average volume of 645,998. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.90 and a 52-week high of $63.82. The company's 50 day moving average price is $59.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.56. The stock has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

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

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Hancock Whitney's payout ratio is currently 33.15%.

Hancock Whitney Company 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.