Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Stake Raised by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation by 88.6% in the first quarter, now owning about 0.15% of the company, valued at approximately $6.94 million.
• Hancock Whitney's most recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.37, surpassing the consensus estimate and reflecting a year-over-year increase from $1.31 EPS.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.96%, and a payout ratio currently at 33.15%.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its position in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 88.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,345 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 62,155 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.15% of Hancock Whitney worth $6,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,854 shares of the company's stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 0.8% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 24,100 shares of the company's stock worth $1,264,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 12,473 shares of the company's stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 10,085 shares of the company's stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 20,640 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on HWC. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Hancock Whitney from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $62.00 to $63.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Stephens reduced their price target on Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.71.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 0.3%

HWC traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $60.69. The stock had a trading volume of 639,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 727,412. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $57.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.37. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1-year low of $43.90 and a 1-year high of $62.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

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

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.