Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 8,650 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,506 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,650 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $5,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth $92,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HWC shares. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price target (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $62.00 price target (down previously from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total value of $40,299.42. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,019 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,983.71. The trade was a 3.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.4%

HWC opened at $56.77 on Friday. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.60 and a fifty-two week high of $62.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $51.56 and its 200 day moving average is $55.37. The stock has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 1.05.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%. The company had revenue of $367.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $368.12 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. 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.