Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Has $434,000 Stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. cut its stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 39.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,932 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,158 shares during the quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 38,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,081,000 after buying an additional 6,345 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 27,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hancock Whitney by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 297,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,261,000 after acquiring an additional 3,706 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 2.2 %

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $56.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average is $57.64 and its 200-day moving average is $54.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a PE ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 1.27. Hancock Whitney Co. has a fifty-two week low of $41.56 and a fifty-two week high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is 34.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HWC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.