Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) Shares Sold by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership cut its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 56.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,357 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,012 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 17,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 3,735 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth $138,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,605,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 612,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,520,000 after buying an additional 60,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter worth $246,000. 81.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 6.7 %

HWC stock opened at $46.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 0.99. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.20. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 12 month low of $41.56 and a 12 month high of $62.40.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on HWC. StockNews.com upgraded Hancock Whitney from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $72.00 target price (up from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hancock Whitney currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.