Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) vs. Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) Head-To-Head Comparison

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) and Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, valuation and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Hancock Whitney and Synovus Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hancock Whitney	$2.06 billion	2.61	$460.82 million	$5.43	11.69
Synovus Financial	$3.43 billion	2.09	$482.46 million	$5.21	9.94

Synovus Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Hancock Whitney. Synovus Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hancock Whitney, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Hancock Whitney has a beta of 1.13, indicating that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Synovus Financial has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Hancock Whitney and Synovus Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hancock Whitney	0	2	5	1	2.88
Synovus Financial	0	9	9	0	2.50

Hancock Whitney presently has a consensus price target of $68.25, indicating a potential upside of 7.53%. Synovus Financial has a consensus price target of $58.83, indicating a potential upside of 13.60%. Given Synovus Financial’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Synovus Financial is more favorable than Hancock Whitney.

Profitability

This table compares Hancock Whitney and Synovus Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hancock Whitney	23.28%	11.21%	1.35%
Synovus Financial	21.52%	16.20%	1.31%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

81.2% of Hancock Whitney shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.9% of Synovus Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Hancock Whitney shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Synovus Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Hancock Whitney pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Synovus Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hancock Whitney pays out 33.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Synovus Financial pays out 29.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Hancock Whitney has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Synovus Financial has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Synovus Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Synovus Financial beats Hancock Whitney on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans including real and non-real estate loans; construction and land development loans; and residential mortgages, as well as consumer loans. In addition, it offers commercial finance products to middle market and corporate clients, including leases and related structures; facilitates investments in new market tax credit activities and holding certain foreclosed assets; provides customers access to fixed annuity and life insurance products; and underwriting transactions products, as well as debt and mortgage-related securities. The company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi.

About Synovus Financial

Synovus Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Synovus Bank that provides commercial and consumer banking products and services. It operates through four segments: Community Banking, Wholesale Banking, Consumer Banking, and Financial Management Services. The company's commercial banking services include treasury and asset management, capital market, and institutional trust services, as well as commercial, financial, and real estate lending services. Its consumer banking services comprise accepting customary types of demand and savings deposits accounts; mortgage, installment, and other consumer loans; investment and brokerage services; safe deposit services; automated banking services; automated fund transfers; internet-based banking services; and bank credit and debit card services, including Visa and MasterCard services. The company also offers various other financial services, including portfolio management for fixed-income securities, investment banking, execution of securities transactions as a broker/dealer, trust management, and financial planning services, as well as provides individual investment advice on equity and other securities. The company was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Columbus, Georgia.