Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Acquires New Position in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 17,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,094,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HWC. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Amundi purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $50,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 84,400.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the second quarter worth approximately $58,000. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on HWC. Wall Street Zen raised Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $75.63.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In other news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total transaction of $358,415.39. Following the sale, the insider owned 33,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,283,449.57. This represents a 13.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 2.3%

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $62.72 on Tuesday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.90 and a 52 week high of $75.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $67.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 24.05%.The business had revenue of $81.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 35.21%.

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.