Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,960,000 shares, a growth of 10.7% from the July 15th total of 1,770,000 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 509,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Frank E. Bertucci sold 2,053 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.03, for a total transaction of $117,082.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,286,254.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney during the second quarter worth $31,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. CWM LLC grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 268.9% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HWC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Hovde Group increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.78.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:HWC traded up $0.48 on Monday, reaching $50.25. 42,539 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 500,500. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.23. Hancock Whitney has a 12 month low of $32.16 and a 12 month high of $57.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 1.29.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.11. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 18.63%. The business had revenue of $359.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $359.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 37.30%.

About Hancock Whitney

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.