VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Purchases Shares of 50,901 Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 50,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,803,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HWC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter valued at about $814,839,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 7,157.9% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 7,189,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,198,000 after buying an additional 7,090,427 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,246,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,463,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,605,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 22,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total transaction of $1,728,828.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,364,108.80. This represents a 33.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Emory L. Mayfield, Jr. sold 4,990 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.40, for a total transaction of $381,236.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,166. The trade was a 24.28% 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ HWC opened at $74.43 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.33 and a 200-day moving average of $70.42. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1-year low of $54.05 and a 1-year high of $80.13.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 21.81%.The business had revenue of $403.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $398.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 39.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HWC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Hancock Whitney from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stephens reduced their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.