Salzhauer Michael Buys 6,000 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Salzhauer Michael raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 33.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,796 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the quarter. Salzhauer Michael’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the third quarter worth $72,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 170.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on HWC. StockNews.com downgraded Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock opened at $60.29 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $57.50 and its 200 day moving average is $54.47. Hancock Whitney Co. has a one year low of $41.43 and a one year high of $62.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 1.27.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 30.30%.

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.