Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New $624,000 Investment in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 11,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $624,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,097,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,539,000 after purchasing an additional 181,706 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,898,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,557,000 after buying an additional 12,172 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,321,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,300,000 after buying an additional 193,028 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,265,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,229,000 after buying an additional 66,074 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,228,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,235,000 after buying an additional 73,875 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 838 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total value of $40,299.42. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,983.71. This represents a 3.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on HWC. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens cut their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective (down previously from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.25.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $56.44 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $51.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1-year low of $43.60 and a 1-year high of $62.40. The company has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 1.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.10. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. The company had revenue of $367.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.12 million. Analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 33.21%.

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.