Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Director Sells $28,005.72 in Stock

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Director Christine Pickering sold 417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total value of $28,005.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,683,432.56. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC stock traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $68.16. 534,168 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 857,145. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $52.89 and a fifty-two week high of $75.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $65.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.55.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $393.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $400.01 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.34% and a return on equity of 11.20%. Hancock Whitney’s revenue was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.07%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HWC. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,555,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.9% during the first quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 31.0% during the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HWC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research cut Hancock Whitney from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut Hancock Whitney from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.14.

About Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ: HWC) is a regional financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi. The firm was established in April 2019 through the merger of Hancock Holding Company and Whitney Holding Corporation, each of which traced its roots to the late 19th century. This combination created one of the largest bank holding companies in the Gulf South region, with a network of branches serving both urban and rural communities.

The company’s core business activities include commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.