Hancock Holding Company Falls 6.8% On Merger News (HBHC)

Shares of Hancock Holding Company HBHC are trading down 6.8% at $34.51 per share during the Wednesday afternoon trading session. The company made a joint announcement with Whitney Holding Corporation WTNY early on Wednesday morning, that Whitney Holding Corporation would merge into Hancock Holding Company in a stock-for-stock transaction. Under the terms of the agreement, which are still subject to shareholder and regulatory approval and other conditions, shareholders of Whitney Holding Corporation (WTNY) will receive 0.418 shares of Hancock Holding Company common stock in exchange for each share of Whitney Holding Corporation common stock. Hancock Holding Company (HBHC) chief executive officer Carl J. Chaney said, "Hancock and Whitney were both founded to facilitate commerce and opportunities for people throughout the Gulf South region. For more than a century, both institutions have served complementary geographical footprints according to core values that reflect the spirit of those communities -- integrity, service, resilience, and teamwork. We believe this agreement presents an unprecedented opportunity to enhance shareholder value and strengthen the financial options available to individuals and businesses from Texas to Central Florida." The day's range for shares of Hancock Holding Company has been between $34.10 and $35.25 per share. The average price target of analysts who cover Hancock Holding Company is $36.88 per share. Volume of 1.9 million shares is far above the daily average volume of 136,000 shares. Hancock Holding Company is the parent company of Hancock Bank (Mississippi and Florida), Hancock Bank of Louisiana, and Hancock Bank of Alabama and had assets of approximately $8.2 billion as of September 30, 2010. Read more from Benzinga's Company news.