Insider Selling: Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Insider Sells $39,516.08 in Stock

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total value of $39,516.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 58,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,755,029.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $47.57 on Friday. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 12-month low of $31.02 and a 12-month high of $49.65. The firm has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $44.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.18.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 27.97%.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 155.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 target price (down previously from $55.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.71.

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.