Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Shares Sold by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,210 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,868 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $844,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 66.7% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 33,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 13,243 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth $2,605,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 35.4% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 102,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,884,000 after buying an additional 26,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter valued at $508,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $55.26 on Thursday. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1 year low of $41.19 and a 1 year high of $62.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $56.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 1.27.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 19.30%. The company had revenue of $525.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.54 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.55, for a total transaction of $443,049.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 54,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,857,669. The trade was a 13.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total transaction of $1,069,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 254,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,099,305.44. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,994 shares of company stock worth $1,593,710 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stephens upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “moderate buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.00.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

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.