Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) versus WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Critical Contrast

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) and Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares WesBanco and Hancock Whitney”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WesBanco	$953.62 million	3.25	$151.51 million	$1.66	19.48
Hancock Whitney	$2.06 billion	2.61	$460.82 million	$5.43	11.65

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

Dividends

WesBanco pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Hancock Whitney pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. WesBanco pays out 89.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Hancock Whitney pays out 33.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. WesBanco has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Hancock Whitney has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. WesBanco is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WesBanco	11.65%	7.29%	1.00%
Hancock Whitney	23.28%	11.21%	1.35%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

61.4% of WesBanco shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.2% of Hancock Whitney shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of WesBanco shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Hancock Whitney shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

WesBanco has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hancock Whitney has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for WesBanco and Hancock Whitney, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WesBanco	0	2	3	1	2.83
Hancock Whitney	0	1	5	1	3.00

WesBanco presently has a consensus price target of $38.83, suggesting a potential upside of 20.12%. Hancock Whitney has a consensus price target of $70.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.65%. Given WesBanco’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe WesBanco is more favorable than Hancock Whitney.

Summary

Hancock Whitney beats WesBanco on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About WesBanco

WesBanco, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for WesBanco Bank, Inc. that provides retail banking, corporate banking, personal and corporate trust, brokerage, mortgage banking, and insurance services to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Community Banking, and Trust and Investment Services. It offers commercial demand, individual demand, and time deposit accounts; commercial, mortgage and individual installment loans; retail loans, such as residential real estate mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, and loans for other consumer purposes; installment loans to finance the purchase of automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, boats, and other recreational vehicles, as well as home equity installment loans, unsecured home improvement loans, and revolving lines of credit; and various non-traditional offerings, such as insurance and securities brokerage services. The company also provides trust services; and various alternative investment products, including mutual funds and annuities. In addition, it acts as an agency that specializes in property, casualty, life, and title insurance, as well as benefit plan sales and administration to personal and commercial clients; provides broker dealer and discount brokerage services; holds investment securities and loans; and holds and leases commercial real estate properties, as well as acts as an investment adviser to a family of mutual funds. WesBanco, Inc. was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia.

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.