Legal & General Group Plc Trims Holdings in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its Hancock Whitney stake by 15.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 23,606 shares and leaving it with 126,720 shares valued at about $8.07 million.
• Hancock Whitney reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.52 per share, topping estimates, though revenue came in slightly below forecasts and was down 19.7% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, implying a 2.9% annual yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $78.14.

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 126,720 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,606 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.15% of Hancock Whitney worth $8,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 10.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,878,121 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,589,000 after buying an additional 182,845 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 134.3% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 909,460 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,941,000 after purchasing an additional 521,261 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 2.2% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 686,690 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,994,000 after purchasing an additional 14,575 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 634,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,403,000 after purchasing an additional 47,297 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 9.1% in 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 last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock opened at $69.38 on Friday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 12-month low of $52.93 and a 12-month high of $75.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.04. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.20% and a net margin of 21.34%.The company had revenue of $393.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HWC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.14.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $28,005.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,683,432.56. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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