Wellington Management Group LLP Reduces Stock Holdings in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,542,671 shares of the company’s stock after selling 229,295 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $115,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HWC. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 8.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,555,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 31.0% during the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 1.7%

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $73.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 0.94. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 12 month low of $54.05 and a 12 month high of $80.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.55. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The firm had revenue of $403.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 39.22%.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In other news, insider Emory L. Mayfield, Jr. sold 4,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.40, for a total transaction of $381,236.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,166. This trade represents a 24.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 22,694 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total value of $1,728,828.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 44,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,364,108.80. This represents a 33.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HWC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Barclays upped their target price on Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stephens lowered their price target on Hancock Whitney from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.78.

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.