Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Shares Purchased by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 158,744 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,327 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $8,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 21.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 551,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,227,000 after buying an additional 96,092 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,096,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,228,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,235,000 after acquiring an additional 73,875 shares during the last quarter. Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney in the 4th quarter worth approximately $696,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney by 1,987.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 51,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,814,000 after purchasing an additional 48,957 shares during the last quarter. 81.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Price Performance

Hancock Whitney stock opened at $47.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.38. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1 year low of $41.56 and a 1 year high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a $0.45 dividend. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is currently 34.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HWC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com raised Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.56.

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.