Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Acquires 77,904 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 131.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 137,026 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 77,904 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $6,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HWC. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 81.0% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 151.1% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 136.8% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 2.7 %

NASDAQ HWC traded up $1.17 on Friday, reaching $43.90. The company had a trading volume of 199,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 504,381. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Hancock Whitney Co. has a fifty-two week low of $31.02 and a fifty-two week high of $49.65. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.43.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The firm had revenue of $308.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $355.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. Analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is 27.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 9,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.15, for a total transaction of $464,757.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 30,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,996.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 3,636 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $158,166.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 35,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,534,897.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 9,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.15, for a total value of $464,757.55. Following the sale, the insider now owns 30,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,996.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 31,183 shares of company stock worth $1,450,992. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 price target (down previously from $55.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 31st. Citigroup raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $50.00 in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.75.

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.