Christine Pickering Sells 417 Shares of Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Stock

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) Director Christine Pickering sold 417 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total value of $28,005.72. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,066 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available at this link.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $67.77 on Thursday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a twelve month low of $52.89 and a twelve month high of $75.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.69. The company has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 0.97. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.04. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.20% and a net margin of 21.34%.The firm had revenue of $393.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.01 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 41.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 44.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 283,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,764,000 after acquiring an additional 87,227 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,169,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 348,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,850,000 after acquiring an additional 72,433 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 126,754.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 457,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,671,000 after acquiring an additional 457,583 shares during the period. Finally, Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at $1,094,000. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Hancock Whitney from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.14.

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.