Christine L. Pickering Sells 1,300 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Stock

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total value of $59,306.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,982 shares in the company, valued at $1,094,058.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Shares of HWC opened at $47.18 on Friday. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1 year low of $31.02 and a 1 year high of $49.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $43.97 and a 200-day moving average of $43.15.

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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on HWC. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 target price (down from $55.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 35.2% in 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 in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.