Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Short Interest Down 10.8% in May

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,240,000 shares, a decline of 10.8% from the May 15th total of 1,390,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 461,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HWC. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.88.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC traded up $0.85 during trading on Monday, hitting $44.81. 454,524 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 476,280. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $45.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.29. Hancock Whitney has a 12-month low of $32.16 and a 12-month high of $49.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 1.28.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $354.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $353.15 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.07% and a return on equity of 11.89%. On average, research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 5th. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total value of $59,306.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,094,058.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total value of $39,516.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,755,029.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total transaction of $59,306.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,982 shares in the company, valued at $1,094,058.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 155.8% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

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.