Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Shares Sold by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 187,782 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,280 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $10,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter worth $251,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 7.3% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 9,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $510,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth about $1,445,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 179.7% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 26,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 16,916 shares during the period. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 31,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,621,000 after purchasing an additional 5,441 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 target price (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued 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, Hancock Whitney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

HWC opened at $57.13 on Friday. Hancock Whitney Co. has a twelve month low of $41.56 and a twelve month high of $62.40. The firm has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.19.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 34.09%.

About Hancock Whitney

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.