AlphaQuest LLC Trims Position in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

AlphaQuest LLC decreased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) by 35.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,222 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,550 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the second quarter valued at about $2,790,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 84.3% in the 2nd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 25,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 11,819 shares in the last quarter. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 245.5% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 198,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,371,000 after buying an additional 140,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 3.5% in the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 145,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,359,000 after buying an additional 4,873 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Hancock Whitney from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $62.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Hovde Group boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.86.

Insider Activity at Hancock Whitney

In related news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 9,894 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.86, for a total value of $542,784.84. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 55,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,057,512.38. This trade represents a 15.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC opened at $55.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.90 and a 12 month high of $64.66. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $61.52 and its 200 day moving average is $57.86.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.06. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 23.99%.The business had revenue of $0.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 32.20%.

Hancock Whitney Company 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.