Vest Financial LLC Takes Position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $763,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 13,831 shares of the company's stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 13,121 shares of the company's stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares in the last quarter. Salzhauer Michael grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 33.7% during the 4th quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 23,796 shares of the company's stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,898,504 shares of the company's stock worth $102,557,000 after purchasing an additional 12,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Hancock Whitney by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 148,657 shares of the company's stock worth $8,135,000 after purchasing an additional 6,980 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HWC shares. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $62.00 price target (down from $72.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hancock Whitney from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $68.00 to $62.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Hancock Whitney from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 838 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.09, for a total value of $40,299.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,983.71. The trade was a 3.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.91% of the company's stock.

Hancock Whitney Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of HWC stock opened at $54.51 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $52.37 and a 200-day moving average of $55.12. 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 12-month low of $43.60 and a 12-month high of $62.40. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 1.05.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $367.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.12 million. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%. As a group, 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.21%.

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.

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