Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $624,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,605,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,937,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 69.5% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 544,471 shares of the company's stock worth $29,795,000 after buying an additional 223,275 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,321,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,300,000 after buying an additional 193,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,097,563 shares of the company's stock valued at $552,539,000 after buying an additional 181,706 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HWC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $62.00 price objective (down from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.25.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

NASDAQ HWC traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $54.25. 509,125 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 596,398. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1 year low of $43.60 and a 1 year high of $62.40. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $52.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $367.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.12 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 838 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total transaction of $40,299.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,019 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,983.71. This trade represents a 3.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

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.