Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 10,000 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC – Get Rating) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 120,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned 0.14% of Hancock Whitney worth $5,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HWC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 279.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 660 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. River Oaks Capital LLC boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 75.0% in the 3rd quarter. River Oaks Capital LLC now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 151.1% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 904 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 2,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total value of $141,147.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,197,922.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph S. Exnicios sold 2,540 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $141,147.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 21,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,197,922.49. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 6,675 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.12, for a total transaction of $334,551.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,515,628.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

NASDAQ HWC traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, hitting $51.52. The company had a trading volume of 63,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 490,500. The company has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $50.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 12-month low of $41.62 and a 12-month high of $57.00.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 17th. The company reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $375.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $388.47 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 35.69% and a return on equity of 15.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 6.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 6th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on HWC. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $61.00 to $58.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Hancock Whitney from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 20th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.33.

Hancock Whitney Company Profile

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Hancock Whitney Corp. operates as a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of financial services. It also offers trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations, individuals, brokerage services, annuity products, life insurance, general insurance and agency services, including life, title insurance and consumer financing service.