Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) CFO Sells $1,728,828.92 in Stock

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) CFO Michael Achary sold 22,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total value of $1,728,828.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,364,108.80. The trade was a 33.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC stock opened at $76.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $72.86 and a 200-day moving average of $69.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a one year low of $54.05 and a one year high of $79.36.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released 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. The business had revenue of $403.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.89 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 11.36%. Hancock Whitney’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,710,000 after buying an additional 2,255 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 22.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 287,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,078,000 after buying an additional 11,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 951.9% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 123,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,494,000 after buying an additional 112,042 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on HWC shares. Zacks Research raised Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Hovde Group cut Hancock Whitney from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Stephens lowered their price target on Hancock Whitney from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Hancock Whitney from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.56.

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.