Savant Capital LLC Sells 20,546 Shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Key Points

• Savant Capital LLC cut its Hancock Whitney stake by 79.3% in Q4, selling 20,546 shares and ending with 5,377 shares worth about $342,000.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but generally positive, with analysts holding a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $78.14 despite a recent downgrade from Zacks Research and a sell rating from Wall Street Zen.
• Hancock Whitney reported Q1 earnings of $1.52 per share, beating estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, implying a 2.9% annual yield.

Savant Capital LLC lowered its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 79.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,377 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,546 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC's holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 283,722 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,764,000 after acquiring an additional 87,227 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,169,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 348,993 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,850,000 after acquiring an additional 72,433 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 126,754.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 457,944 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,671,000 after acquiring an additional 457,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at $1,094,000. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Hancock Whitney from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.14.

Insider Activity

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total transaction of $28,005.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,683,432.56. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ HWC opened at $69.38 on Friday. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a twelve month low of $52.93 and a twelve month high of $75.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $66.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.10.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $393.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.01 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.34% and a return on equity of 11.20%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.07%.

Hancock Whitney Profile

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.

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