United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 6,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Emerald Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the second quarter valued at about $3,085,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $6,070,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the second quarter worth about $8,685,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 16.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 807,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,354,000 after buying an additional 114,029 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 139.9% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 47,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,047,000 after buying an additional 27,942 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on HWC. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Benchmark upped their price target on Hancock Whitney from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.78.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $74.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.05 and a 1 year high of $80.13. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.22. The firm has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.