Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $5.73 Million Holdings in Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney Co. (NASDAQ:HWC) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 104,641 shares of the company’s stock after selling 248 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.12% of Hancock Whitney worth $5,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its position 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 valued at $35,429,000 after buying an additional 55,869 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 3rd quarter valued at about $844,000. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 33,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after acquiring an additional 13,243 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the third quarter valued at about $2,605,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 21.1% during the 3rd 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of HWC opened at $60.29 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $57.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 1.27. Hancock Whitney Co. has a 52 week low of $41.43 and a 52 week high of $62.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business earned $1.26 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Hancock Whitney Co. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Hancock Whitney Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. This is an increase from Hancock Whitney’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Hancock Whitney’s payout ratio is 30.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on HWC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up from $68.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective (up previously from $64.00) on shares of Hancock Whitney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Hancock Whitney from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hancock Whitney has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.56.

Hancock Whitney 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.