AlphaQuest LLC Buys 22,316 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 67.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,422 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,316 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney accounts for about 0.4% of AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. AlphaQuest LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Hancock Whitney worth $3,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HWC. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HWC shares. Raymond James reissued 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 boosted their price target on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Trading Down 0.1 %

HWC opened at $53.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52 week low of $41.56 and a 52 week high of $62.40. The stock has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $57.65 and a 200-day moving average of $55.35.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company earned $1.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. This is a positive change from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

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.