The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Cuts Stock Position in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 542,254 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,962 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.67% of Hancock Whitney worth $34,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth $80,246,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter valued at $57,463,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position 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 worth $34,071,000 after purchasing an additional 532,180 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 134.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 909,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,941,000 after purchasing an additional 521,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 1st quarter worth about $23,071,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on HWC. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hancock Whitney from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.56.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.9%

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $77.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a one year low of $54.05 and a one year high of $79.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $73.05 and its 200 day moving average is $69.12.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55. The business had revenue of $403.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.89 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 21.81%.Hancock Whitney’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 39.22%.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $28,005.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,683,432.56. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 22,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total transaction of $1,728,828.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,364,108.80. This trade represents a 33.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Hancock Whitney

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.