Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Shares Sold by Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. lessened its position in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 386,086 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,400 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney makes up about 3.8% of Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. owned about 0.45% of Hancock Whitney worth $21,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the third quarter worth $72,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 170.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the company's stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HWC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hancock Whitney from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $74.00 target price (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $72.00 target price (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

HWC stock traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $58.83. The stock had a trading volume of 651,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 659,862. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.74. Hancock Whitney Co. has a fifty-two week low of $41.56 and a fifty-two week high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.12. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 11.56%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Hancock Whitney's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.30%.

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.