Quest Partners LLC Buys 13,243 Shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 66.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,106 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,243 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC's holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,226,780 shares of the company's stock worth $424,801,000 after acquiring an additional 34,152 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney in the third quarter valued at approximately $844,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Hancock Whitney in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,605,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in Hancock Whitney by 35.4% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 102,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,884,000 after acquiring an additional 26,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Hancock Whitney by 22.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 59,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,746,000 after purchasing an additional 10,810 shares during the period. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HWC traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $57.20. The stock had a trading volume of 470,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 509,369. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $52.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.23. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 1-year low of $39.38 and a 1-year high of $61.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.02. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 19.30% and a return on equity of 11.47%. The company had revenue of $525.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $363.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio is 35.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hancock Whitney

In other Hancock Whitney news, Director Carleton Richard Wilkins sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $40,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,900 shares in the company, valued at $810,105. The trade was a 4.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 8,431 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.55, for a total transaction of $443,049.05. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 54,380 shares in the company, valued at $2,857,669. The trade was a 13.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,994 shares of company stock valued at $1,593,710 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on HWC shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Hancock Whitney from $57.00 to $56.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.89.

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.