Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 21,501 Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Sterling Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 43.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,318 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,501 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HWC. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,246,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,463,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 18,614.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 535,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,071,000 after purchasing an additional 532,180 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 134.3% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 909,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,941,000 after purchasing an additional 521,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the third quarter valued at approximately $23,457,000. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HWC shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $84.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Hancock Whitney from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.25.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In related news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $28,005.72. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,683,432.56. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 0.4%

HWC stock opened at $74.76 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $68.79 and a 200 day moving average of $67.39. The firm has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 0.95. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a twelve month low of $54.05 and a twelve month high of $75.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.04. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.20% and a net margin of 21.34%.The business had revenue of $393.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.01 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 41.07%.

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.