Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 93,570 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,302 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $5,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HWC. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price target (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 1.1 %

HWC opened at $51.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 1.24. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1-year low of $41.56 and a 1-year high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 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 in the prior year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. Analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 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.