Quest Partners LLC Takes Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 13,859 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $673,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 28.3% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $818,000 after acquiring an additional 4,882 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 5.5% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 139,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,169,000 after buying an additional 7,283 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 3.7% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 299,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,093,000 after buying an additional 10,717 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 135.0% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 73,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,712,000 after buying an additional 42,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 36.2% in the third quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 124,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,588,000 after buying an additional 32,954 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hancock Whitney news, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total transaction of $39,516.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,755,029.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.62, for a total transaction of $59,306.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,094,058.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cecil W. Knight, Jr. sold 844 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.82, for a total value of $39,516.08. Following the sale, the insider now owns 58,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,755,029.26. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ HWC opened at $46.86 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $45.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.52. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1 year low of $32.16 and a 1 year high of $49.65.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.10. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 19.07%. The business had revenue of $354.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $353.15 million. On average, analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 5th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 27.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HWC. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $51.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $52.00 target price (down from $55.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.43.

About Hancock Whitney

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 various transaction and savings deposit products consisting of brokered deposits, time deposits, and money market accounts; treasury management services, secured and unsecured loan products including revolving credit facilities, and letters of credit and similar financial guarantees; and trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations, and individuals, and investment advisory and brokerage products.