Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Purchases 163,438 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 607,239 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 163,438 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney accounts for approximately 1.6% of Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $31,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HWC. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 5.7% during the second quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 6,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 5.5% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 10.6% during the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 6,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HWC shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $56.89.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $59.38 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $54.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.94. Hancock Whitney Co. has a one year low of $40.79 and a one year high of $62.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $525.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.54 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 11.47%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 35.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of Hancock Whitney 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 directly owns 254,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,099,305.44. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $39,981.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,232,343.20. The trade was a 3.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,994 shares of company stock worth $1,593,710 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.