Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $77.00, but opened at $73.46. Hancock Whitney shares last traded at $77.7830, with a volume of 114,654 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HWC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group cut shares of Hancock Whitney from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.78.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.12.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55. The firm had revenue of $403.57 million for 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 39.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 22,694 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,160 shares in the company, valued at $3,364,108.80. This trade represents a 33.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,683,432.56. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,555,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 719 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.