United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Invests $505,000 in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 6,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 2nd quarter valued at about $814,839,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,790,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,652,000 after purchasing an additional 21,655 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,521,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,935,000 after purchasing an additional 126,367 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,246,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 920,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,595,000 after purchasing an additional 162,482 shares in the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $74.49 on Tuesday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.05 and a 1 year high of $80.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $76.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.22. The company has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $403.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $398.89 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 11.36%. Hancock Whitney’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark upped their target price on Hancock Whitney from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.