Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in Hancock Whitney Corporation by 2.5%, now owning approximately 9.85 million shares, valued at $516.6 million.
• Hancock Whitney's latest earnings report indicated a quarterly EPS of $1.37, slightly exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue reaching approximately $378 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.80 and a yield of 3.0% for investors.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,850,021 shares of the company's stock after selling 247,542 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.44% of Hancock Whitney worth $516,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,027,364 shares of the company's stock worth $105,139,000 after acquiring an additional 128,860 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 17.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,265,146 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,229,000 after buying an additional 66,074 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,019,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 652,540 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,707,000 after buying an additional 3,890 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of HWC stock traded down $1.37 on Friday, reaching $59.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 556,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 692,699. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $58.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.48. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1 year low of $43.90 and a 1 year high of $62.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 1.11.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $375.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HWC shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Hancock Whitney from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $62.00 to $63.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.71.

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.