Citigroup Inc. Increases Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 15.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 149,118 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,213 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.17% of Hancock Whitney worth $7,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,980,204 shares of the company's stock worth $238,197,000 after buying an additional 167,304 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 20.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,401,113 shares of the company's stock worth $67,015,000 after purchasing an additional 237,526 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 4.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,154,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,093,000 after purchasing an additional 46,622 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 30.9% in the second quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,069,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,141,000 after purchasing an additional 252,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 780,882 shares of the company's stock worth $37,350,000 after purchasing an additional 135,076 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.89.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In related news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.55, for a total transaction of $443,049.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 54,380 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,669. This trade represents a 13.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total transaction of $1,069,920.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 254,026 shares in the company, valued at $15,099,305.44. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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 company insiders.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock traded down $0.56 on Friday, hitting $59.38. 191,065 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 540,634. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1-year low of $40.79 and a 1-year high of $62.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $54.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.94.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. The business had revenue of $525.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.54 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.87%.

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.