Engineers Gate Manager LP Takes $1.79 Million Position in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired 24,003 Hancock Whitney shares worth approximately $1.79 million, while institutional investors collectively own 81.22% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.78; individual targets range up to $91.
• Hancock Whitney reported quarterly EPS of $1.55 and revenue of $403.57 million, up 6.9% year over year, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding about 2.6% annually.

Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 24,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,794,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the second quarter worth approximately $814,839,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at $57,463,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $55,605,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,973,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter worth $40,112,000. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HWC shares. Hovde Group lowered Hancock Whitney from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $74.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Benchmark raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Hancock Whitney from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.78.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michael Achary sold 22,694 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total transaction of $1,728,828.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,160 shares in the company, valued at $3,364,108.80. This represents a 33.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Emory L. Mayfield, Jr. sold 4,990 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.40, for a total value of $381,236.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,166. This represents a 24.28% 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 Price Performance

Shares of HWC opened at $75.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.60. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 52-week low of $54.05 and a 52-week high of $80.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 0.94.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.55. The firm had revenue of $403.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $398.89 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Hancock Whitney's payout ratio is 39.22%.

Hancock Whitney Profile

Hancock Whitney Corporation is a financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi, and the parent company of Hancock Whitney Bank. The bank provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions across the Gulf South.

Its offerings include personal and business deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential and commercial real estate financing, treasury management, online and mobile banking, investment services and wealth management.

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