Magnetar Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 8,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 9.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

HWC opened at $52.30 on Friday. Hancock Whitney Co. has a fifty-two week low of $41.56 and a fifty-two week high of $62.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $56.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.26.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 34.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Hancock Whitney Company 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.