Salzhauer Michael Increases Stock Holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Salzhauer Michael raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 33.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,796 shares of the company's stock after purchasing 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 reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company's stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,358 shares of the company's stock worth $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 12,845 shares of the company's stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,581 shares of the company's stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,121 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HWC shares. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $62.00 target price (down from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.56.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

NASDAQ HWC traded up $1.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $49.66. The company had a trading volume of 130,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 753,688. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.99. Hancock Whitney Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.60 and a fifty-two week high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $367.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $368.12 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. Equities analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney's payout ratio is currently 33.21%.

Hancock Whitney 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.