Vest Financial LLC Invests $763,000 in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 14,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $763,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 11,191.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 65,038 shares of the company's stock worth $34,110,000 after buying an additional 64,462 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 2.7% in the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 18,251 shares of the company's stock valued at $957,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 554.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 707 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth $236,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Hancock Whitney by 94.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 4,636 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 838 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total value of $40,299.42. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 23,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,106,983.71. This represents a 3.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.91% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HWC. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $62.00 price target (down from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Stephens cut their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $73.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.25.

Hancock Whitney Trading Up 0.5%

HWC stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $55.20. The stock had a trading volume of 775,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 600,680. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 12-month low of $43.60 and a 12-month high of $62.40. The firm has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 1.05. The company's 50-day moving average price is $52.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.09. 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 (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $367.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.12 million. Hancock Whitney had a return on equity of 11.56% and a net margin of 22.40%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.21%.

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.