Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC Stock Holdings Lessened by Martingale Asset Management L P

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P significantly reduced its stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation by 56.0% during the first quarter, owning 14,392 shares valued at approximately $755,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Versant Capital Management Inc and UMB Bank n.a., have increased their positions in Hancock Whitney, indicating growing interest from institutional players.
• Equities analysts have mixed sentiments on Hancock Whitney, with price targets ranging from $67.00 to $72.00 and a generally favorable rating of "Moderate Buy" despite a recent downgrade to "sell" from Wall Street Zen.

Martingale Asset Management L P lessened its position in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 56.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,392 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,282 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 169.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,329 shares of the company's stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 6,494 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 14,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 63,921 shares of the company's stock worth $3,498,000 after buying an additional 5,992 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,265,146 shares of the company's stock worth $69,229,000 after buying an additional 66,074 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 17.1% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HWC shares. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.63.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ HWC traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $62.92. 421,207 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 621,611. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.90 and a 52-week high of $64.25. The business's fifty day moving average price is $60.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 1.11.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $377.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $375.99 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 23.28%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. Analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

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

About Hancock Whitney

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.