First Citizens BancShares (FCNCA) Competitors

First Citizens BancShares (NASDAQ:FCNCA) and Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and dividends.

Does the media prefer FCNCA or HWC?

In the previous week, Hancock Whitney had 13 more articles in the media than First Citizens BancShares. MarketBeat recorded 26 mentions for Hancock Whitney and 13 mentions for First Citizens BancShares. First Citizens BancShares' average media sentiment score of 1.68 beat Hancock Whitney's score of 0.53 indicating that First Citizens BancShares is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Citizens BancShares	11 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Hancock Whitney	8 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	12 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has higher earnings and valuation, FCNCA or HWC?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Citizens BancShares	$9.59B	2.88	$2.78B	$174.64	11.92
Hancock Whitney	$2.06B	2.42	$460.82M	$5.42	10.74

Is FCNCA or HWC more profitable?

Hancock Whitney has a net margin of 23.15% compared to First Citizens BancShares' net margin of 17.10%. First Citizens BancShares' return on equity of 11.98% beat Hancock Whitney's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Citizens BancShares	17.10%	11.98%	1.16%
Hancock Whitney	23.15%	11.43%	1.34%

Which has more volatility & risk, FCNCA or HWC?

First Citizens BancShares has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hancock Whitney has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer FCNCA or HWC?

First Citizens BancShares presently has a consensus price target of $2,299.50, suggesting a potential upside of 10.51%. Hancock Whitney has a consensus price target of $63.43, suggesting a potential upside of 8.95%. Given First Citizens BancShares' higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Citizens BancShares is more favorable than Hancock Whitney.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Citizens BancShares	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.62
Hancock Whitney	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of FCNCA or HWC?

78.0% of First Citizens BancShares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.2% of Hancock Whitney shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.2% of First Citizens BancShares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Hancock Whitney shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is FCNCA or HWC a better dividend stock?

First Citizens BancShares pays an annual dividend of $7.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Hancock Whitney pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. First Citizens BancShares pays out 4.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hancock Whitney pays out 33.2% 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. First Citizens BancShares has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years and Hancock Whitney has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Summary

First Citizens BancShares beats Hancock Whitney on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.