First Trust Advisors LP Sells 300,938 Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 35.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 551,571 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300,938 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $35,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HWC. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth about $80,246,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at about $57,463,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 18,614.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 535,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,071,000 after buying an additional 532,180 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 134.3% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 909,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,941,000 after buying an additional 521,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the first quarter worth about $23,071,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In related news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $28,005.72. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HWC has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Hancock Whitney from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stephens dropped their price target on Hancock Whitney from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $87.00 price target on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.56.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $75.46 on Tuesday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a one year low of $54.05 and a one year high of $79.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 0.95.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The business had revenue of $403.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $398.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.22%.

Hancock Whitney 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.