Sanctuary Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 54,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,380,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.6% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,555,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 1.9% during the first quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 31.0% during the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 22,694 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total transaction of $1,728,828.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,364,108.80. This represents a 33.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Emory L. Mayfield, Jr. sold 4,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.40, for a total value of $381,236.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,189,166. This trade represents a 24.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $75.23 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 0.95. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 12 month low of $54.05 and a 12 month high of $80.13. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $75.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.19.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.55. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The company had revenue of $403.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on HWC. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Hovde Group cut Hancock Whitney from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Hancock Whitney from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.78.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

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.