Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its stake in Hancock Whitney by 5.8% in Q4, selling 596,494 shares and now holds 9,699,143 shares (about a 11.6% stake) valued at roughly $617.6 million.
• Hancock Whitney reported Q1 EPS of $1.52, topping estimates by $0.04 while revenue declined about 19.7% year‑over‑year, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share (annualized $2.00, ~3.0% yield).
• Institutional ownership stands at about 81.22%, and Wall Street's consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $76.86 (several firms have recently raised targets to the high $70s).

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,699,143 shares of the company's stock after selling 596,494 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.60% of Hancock Whitney worth $617,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 10.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,878,121 shares of the company's stock worth $117,589,000 after buying an additional 182,845 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 134.3% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 909,460 shares of the company's stock worth $56,941,000 after buying an additional 521,261 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 2.2% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 686,690 shares of the company's stock worth $42,994,000 after buying an additional 14,575 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 9.1% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 541,857 shares of the company's stock worth $33,926,000 after buying an additional 45,047 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 14.4% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 540,052 shares of the company's stock worth $33,813,000 after buying an additional 68,161 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $67.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.47. The company has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 0.97. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $52.06 and a fifty-two week high of $75.43.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $393.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.01 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.20% and a net margin of 21.34%.Hancock Whitney's revenue was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HWC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Hancock Whitney from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.86.

About Hancock Whitney

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.

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