Federated Hermes Inc. Purchases 4,727 Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney Corporation by 10.9%, now owning 48,293 shares valued at approximately $2.53 million.
• Hancock Whitney recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.1%.
• Analysts have varied price targets for Hancock Whitney, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $66.71.

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 10.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,293 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,727 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.06% of Hancock Whitney worth $2,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,027,364 shares of the company's stock worth $105,139,000 after buying an additional 128,860 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,321,280 shares of the company's stock worth $72,300,000 after acquiring an additional 193,028 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,265,146 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,229,000 after purchasing an additional 66,074 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 1st quarter valued at $43,019,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 652,540 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,707,000 after purchasing an additional 3,890 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Hancock Whitney from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $62.00 to $63.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.71.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 1.1%

HWC traded up $0.62 on Friday, hitting $58.25. The company had a trading volume of 587,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 723,213. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.73 and a beta of 1.11. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.90 and a 52-week high of $62.90.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $377.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $375.99 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 23.28%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.15%.

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.