AlphaQuest LLC Reduces Position in Hancock Whitney Corporation $HWC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC sold 22,650 shares of Hancock Whitney Corporation, reducing its stake by 40.9% to own 32,772 shares worth approximately $1.72 million.
• Institutional investors own 81.22% of Hancock Whitney’s stock, with significant increases in holdings from firms like Wellington Management Group and Fuller & Thaler Asset Management.
• Hancock Whitney reported earnings of $1.37 per share for the latest quarter, slightly exceeding analysts' estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 payable in September.

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its stake in Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 40.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,772 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,650 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 9,854 shares of the company's stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 0.8% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 24,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,264,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 12,473 shares of the company's stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Hancock Whitney by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 10,085 shares of the company's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 20,640 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Hancock Whitney from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $62.00 to $63.00 in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.63.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of Hancock Whitney stock traded down $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $63.52. 657,680 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 716,724. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 1.11. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a 1 year low of $43.90 and a 1 year high of $64.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.56.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $377.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $375.99 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.21% and a net margin of 23.28%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Corporation will post 5.53 EPS for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.15%.

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.