Barclays PLC Raises Holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 149.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 321,196 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 192,295 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.37% of Hancock Whitney worth $16,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 268.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,000. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.00.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:HWC traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $57.78. 473,892 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 503,000. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52 week low of $41.19 and a 52 week high of $62.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 1.27. The firm's 50 day moving average is $55.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.78.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. The firm had revenue of $525.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $363.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Hancock Whitney's payout ratio is 35.87%.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In related news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total value of $39,981.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,232,343.20. This represents a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total value of $1,069,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 254,026 shares in the company, valued at $15,099,305.44. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,994 shares of company stock worth $1,593,710. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.