Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation by 105.4%, acquiring an additional 25,883 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 0.06%, valued at $2.646 million.
• The company is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share on September 15th, reflecting an annualized dividend of $1.80 and a yield of 2.8%.
• Hancock Whitney reported a net margin of 23.28% and a return on equity of 11.21% in its recent earnings, surpassing earnings expectations with an EPS of $1.37 for the quarter.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 105.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 50,440 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,883 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Hancock Whitney worth $2,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,854 shares of the company's stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.8% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 24,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,264,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.7% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 12,473 shares of the company's stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 10,085 shares of the company's stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.5% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 20,640 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HWC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Hancock Whitney from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $67.63.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of HWC traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $62.92. 421,207 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 621,611. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.90 and a 52-week high of $64.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.63. The firm has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $375.99 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.