Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 21,057 Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Key Points

• Nordea Investment Management cut its Hancock Whitney stake by 12.6%, selling 21,057 shares and holding 146,362 shares worth about $9.37 million (0.18% of the company) after the transaction.
• Wall Street is broadly bullish on HWC with a consensus "Buy" rating and an average price target of about $75.63, following upgrades and raised targets from firms including DA Davidson, Barclays, Zacks, and Raymond James.
• Hancock Whitney raised its quarterly dividend from $0.45 to $0.50 (annualized $2.00) for a yield of 3.1%, and recently reported quarterly EPS of $1.49, slightly above expectations.

Nordea Investment Management AB decreased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 146,362 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,057 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.18% of Hancock Whitney worth $9,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HWC. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 67.6% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Amundi bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 84,400.0% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 845 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney during the second quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $76.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total transaction of $358,415.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 33,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,283,449.57. The trade was a 13.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of HWC opened at $63.79 on Thursday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1-year low of $43.90 and a 1-year high of $75.43. The company has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $67.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.79.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $81.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $391.63 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 11.16%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.21%.

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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