California State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 18,738 Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 23.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,057 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,738 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $6,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 70.9% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 67.6% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 22,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total value of $1,728,828.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,160 shares in the company, valued at $3,364,108.80. This trade represents a 33.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $28,005.72. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 25,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,683,432.56. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $78.32 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1-year low of $54.05 and a 1-year high of $79.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.95.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.55. The business had revenue of $403.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.89 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 21.81%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Hovde Group downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 12th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Hancock Whitney from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.78.

Hancock Whitney Profile

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ: HWC) is a regional financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi. The firm was established in April 2019 through the merger of Hancock Holding Company and Whitney Holding Corporation, each of which traced its roots to the late 19th century. This combination created one of the largest bank holding companies in the Gulf South region, with a network of branches serving both urban and rural communities.

The company’s core business activities include commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.