Insider Selling: Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) CFO Sells 8,431 Shares of Stock

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.55, for a total value of $443,049.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 54,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,857,669. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 0.9 %

HWC stock opened at $51.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.80. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1-year low of $32.16 and a 1-year high of $57.78.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 18.63% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The company had revenue of $525.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $363.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. Analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 5th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on HWC shares. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.89.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the first quarter worth about $1,159,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 96.6% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 51,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after buying an additional 25,241 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,226,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,801,000 after acquiring an additional 34,152 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 35.4% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 102,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,884,000 after acquiring an additional 26,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 22.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 59,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,746,000 after acquiring an additional 10,810 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

About Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Corporation operates as the financial holding company for Hancock Whitney Bank that provides traditional and online banking services to commercial, small business, and retail customers. It offers various transaction and savings deposit products consisting of brokered deposits, time deposits, and money market accounts; treasury management services, secured and unsecured loan products including revolving credit facilities, and letters of credit and similar financial guarantees; and trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations, and individuals, and investment advisory and brokerage products.