Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC Shares Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 36.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 282,295 shares of the company’s stock after selling 164,614 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $20,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the second quarter valued at $55,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Hancock Whitney by 26.0% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 852 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney News Summary

These are some of the HWC news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: DA Davidson maintained a Buy rating, despite reducing its price target from $86 to $80. The revised target still implies 22.5% upside from the cited $65.28 share price. DA Davidson ratings
• Negative Sentiment: Piper Sandler cut its rating from Overweight to Neutral and lowered its target from $88 to $71.50, signaling reduced confidence in near-term upside. Piper Sandler ratings
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research reportedly expects lower earnings, while Zacks also highlighted dilution and integration risks tied to the Trustmark transaction. Separately, a law firm is investigating whether shareholders are receiving a fair price in the deal, adding another source of uncertainty. Zacks Research predicts lower earnings Zacks analysis of Trustmark deal risks Shareholder fairness investigation

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Emory L. Mayfield, Jr. sold 4,990 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.40, for a total value of $381,236.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,166. This trade represents a 24.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.4%

HWC traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $65.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,907,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,138,428. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $72.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.03. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 52-week low of $55.76 and a 52-week high of $80.13.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.66. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 20.51% and a return on equity of 11.65%. The business had revenue of $421.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $421.75 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on HWC. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $80.00 to $79.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.95.

Hancock Whitney Profile

Hancock Whitney is a bank holding company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi, whose principal subsidiary is Hancock Whitney Bank. The company provides personal and business banking services, including deposit accounts, loans, treasury management, mortgage lending, and online and mobile banking. It also offers wealth management, trust, and investment services. The bank serves customers across the Gulf South, with operations in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Texas. Its history includes roots in Hancock County Bank, founded in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, in 1899, and Whitney National Bank, established in New Orleans in 1883.