Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,854,091 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,225 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned about 2.15% of Hancock Whitney worth $101,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HWC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 63,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,498,000 after acquiring an additional 5,992 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,713,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 14,572 shares of the company's stock worth $797,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 169.3% in 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. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. now owns 322,168 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,629,000 after buying an additional 24,389 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on HWC shares. Stephens cut their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $62.00 price objective (down previously from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $70.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 838 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total value of $40,299.42. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,019 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,983.71. The trade was a 3.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

NASDAQ HWC traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $51.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 106,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 580,175. 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $51.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.15. The company has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 0.99.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $367.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.21%.

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.