Short Interest in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Expands By 7.6%

Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,680,000 shares, an increase of 7.6% from the October 15th total of 2,490,000 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 517,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on HWC. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.89.

Insider Transactions at Hancock Whitney

In related news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 763 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.40, for a total transaction of $39,981.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,232,343.20. This trade represents a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.44, for a total transaction of $1,069,920.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 254,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,099,305.44. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,994 shares of company stock valued at $1,593,710 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth $28,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the second quarter worth $31,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the second quarter worth $37,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Hancock Whitney during the second quarter worth $43,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 268.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock traded down $0.98 on Monday, reaching $57.47. The stock had a trading volume of 704,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 509,543. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $52.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.82. Hancock Whitney has a fifty-two week low of $39.38 and a fifty-two week high of $61.41. The stock has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 1.25.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.02. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 11.47%. The business had revenue of $525.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $363.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.87%.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

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.