Salzhauer Michael Buys 6,000 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Salzhauer Michael lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 33.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,796 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the quarter. Salzhauer Michael's holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HWC. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 149.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 321,196 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,435,000 after acquiring an additional 192,295 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 36.8% in the third quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 607,239 shares of the company's stock worth $31,072,000 after buying an additional 163,438 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 21.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 551,636 shares of the company's stock worth $28,227,000 after buying an additional 96,092 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 1.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,297,776 shares of the company's stock worth $219,917,000 after buying an additional 73,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 8.8% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 692,387 shares of the company's stock worth $35,429,000 after buying an additional 55,869 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HWC traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $60.13. The company had a trading volume of 661,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 666,140. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 1.27. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1 year low of $41.56 and a 1 year high of $62.40. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $57.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on HWC. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $72.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $62.56.

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.