Magnetar Financial LLC Takes $449,000 Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 551,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,227,000 after acquiring an additional 96,092 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $810,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,096,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,228,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,235,000 after purchasing an additional 73,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth approximately $696,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.