Rafferty Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation by 6.0%, owning 100,168 shares worth approximately $5.25 million.
• Hancock Whitney recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45, with a yield of 2.9% and an expected annualized amount of $1.80.
• Analyst ratings reflect a generally positive outlook, with the stock receiving an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $67.63.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,168 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,338 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Hancock Whitney worth $5,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 50.4% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,057,103 shares of the company's stock worth $160,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,869 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 12.7% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,089,454 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,592,000 after purchasing an additional 235,363 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 6.8% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,027,364 shares of the company's stock worth $105,139,000 after purchasing an additional 128,860 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 0.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,465,661 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,874,000 after buying an additional 6,315 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,321,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,300,000 after acquiring an additional 193,028 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HWC traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.19. The company had a trading volume of 184,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 710,988. The stock has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $60.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.62. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1 year low of $43.90 and a 1 year high of $64.25.

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

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Piper Sandler raised 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. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Hancock Whitney from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $67.63.

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.