PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 53.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,456 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,890 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 607,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,846,000 after buying an additional 10,157 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 12.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 46,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,453,000 after acquiring an additional 5,111 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 60.5% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 391,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,517,000 after acquiring an additional 147,526 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the second quarter valued at approximately $410,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 216.5% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 205,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,779,000 after purchasing an additional 140,583 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HWC. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $72.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 9,894 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.86, for a total transaction of $542,784.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 55,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,057,512.38. The trade was a 15.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 2.8%

NASDAQ:HWC opened at $60.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 1.18. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a twelve month low of $43.90 and a twelve month high of $64.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.03.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.06. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 23.99% and a return on equity of 11.29%. The firm had revenue of $175.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $391.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.20%.

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.