Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC Stake Lifted by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its Hancock Whitney stake by 84.7% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 384,570 shares valued at approximately $28.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 81.22% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Hancock Whitney carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $83.78, despite some recent downgrades to hold or market perform.
• Hancock Whitney reported quarterly EPS of $1.55, matching expectations, while revenue rose 6.9% year over year to $403.57 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, representing a 2.7% annualized yield.

Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 84.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 384,570 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 176,389 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.48% of Hancock Whitney worth $28,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWC. Amundi acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 1st quarter worth $50,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,664 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,710,000 after buying an additional 2,255 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 22.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 287,471 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,078,000 after buying an additional 11,551 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 951.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 123,812 shares of the company's stock worth $6,494,000 after buying an additional 112,042 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on HWC. Zacks Research cut Hancock Whitney from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Hovde Group lowered Hancock Whitney from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $74.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.78.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock opened at $74.55 on Wednesday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.05 and a 1 year high of $80.13. The company has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $76.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.39.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55. The company had revenue of $403.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.89 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.22%.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Emory L. Mayfield, Jr. sold 4,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.40, for a total transaction of $381,236.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,166. This trade represents a 24.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Achary sold 22,694 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 44,160 shares in the company, valued at $3,364,108.80. The trade was a 33.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company's stock.

Hancock Whitney Profile

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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