Nordea Investment Management AB Acquires 6,506 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 160,369 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,506 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $8,811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 707.2% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 576,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,563,000 after purchasing an additional 504,873 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 213.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 735,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,663,000 after purchasing an additional 501,259 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 30.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 1,069,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,141,000 after purchasing an additional 252,473 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,401,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,015,000 after purchasing an additional 237,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 149.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 321,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,435,000 after buying an additional 192,295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $55.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1-year low of $41.19 and a 1-year high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $525.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.54 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 35.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HWC shares. Raymond James upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total transaction of $1,069,920.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 254,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,099,305.44. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carleton Richard Wilkins sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total transaction of $40,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $810,105. This trade represents a 4.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,994 shares of company stock worth $1,593,710 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.