Paragon Capital Management Ltd Takes Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Paragon Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HWC. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 51.6% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 81.0% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Ellevest Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 38.5% in the first quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 1,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.45% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of HWC traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $38.30. 1,224,723 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 598,045. Hancock Whitney Co. has a twelve month low of $31.02 and a twelve month high of $57.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of 6.38 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.01. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 29.92% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business had revenue of $359.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $364.50 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 5th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 1st. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.00%.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In related news, CEO John M. Hairston sold 23,517 shares of Hancock Whitney stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $1,034,748.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 205,369 shares in the company, valued at $9,036,236. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Hancock Whitney news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 12,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.11, for a total transaction of $513,110.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 39,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,682,210.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John M. Hairston sold 23,517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total transaction of $1,034,748.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 205,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,036,236. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,704 shares of company stock worth $1,678,019. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HWC has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. StockNews.com raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $44.50 to $49.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.56.

Hancock Whitney 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 checking and saving accounts including currency exchange and overdraft services; and range of loan products, which includes credit personal and home equity, construction, and term loans, mortgage facilities, credit cards, equipment finance, line of credit, leasing, commercial loan programs, asset based lending services, derivatives, and equipment and litigation finance, as well as new markets tax credit investment including bridge finance.