Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Shares Purchased by Entropy Technologies LP

Entropy Technologies LP raised its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 42.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,121 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its stake in Hancock Whitney by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 692,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,429,000 after acquiring an additional 55,869 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth $844,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 66.7% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 33,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 13,243 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney in the third quarter valued at $2,605,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Hancock Whitney by 21.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 551,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,227,000 after buying an additional 96,092 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of HWC opened at $60.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 12 month low of $41.43 and a 12 month high of $62.40. The stock has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $57.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.49.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on HWC shares. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price target (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.56.

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 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.