Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,752 shares of the company’s stock after selling 580 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hancock Whitney were worth $1,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 8.8% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 692,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,429,000 after acquiring an additional 55,869 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the third quarter worth $844,000. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 66.7% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 33,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,694,000 after buying an additional 13,243 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the third quarter worth $2,605,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Hancock Whitney by 21.1% in 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 during the period. 81.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hancock Whitney Stock Performance

Shares of HWC stock opened at $57.13 on Friday. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 12 month low of $41.56 and a 12 month high of $62.40. The stock has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $57.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.14.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business posted $1.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is presently 34.09%.

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.