Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 26.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,117 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,406 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,695,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,309,000 after acquiring an additional 229,615 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter valued at $60,224,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 83.0% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 850,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,827,000 after purchasing an additional 385,784 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 841,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,291,000 after purchasing an additional 7,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 672,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,579,000 after buying an additional 2,837 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Christopher S. Ziluca sold 5,227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.57, for a total transaction of $358,415.39. Following the sale, the insider owned 33,301 shares in the company, valued at $2,283,449.57. This represents a 13.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HWC shares. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Hancock Whitney from $72.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $76.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $75.25.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 0.8%

HWC stock opened at $71.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.90. The company has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 1.05. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a twelve month low of $43.90 and a twelve month high of $75.43.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $81.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.63 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 24.05% and a return on equity of 11.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is 31.69%.

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.