Hancock Whitney (HWC) Competitors

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) and Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, profitability, dividends, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Is ABCB or HWC a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Hancock Whitney pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hancock Whitney pays out 33.1% 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 increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Hancock Whitney is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has better earnings & valuation, ABCB or HWC?

Hancock Whitney has higher revenue and earnings than Ameris Bancorp. Hancock Whitney is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ameris Bancorp, 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
Ameris Bancorp	$1.14B	3.98	$358.68M	$5.68	11.60
Hancock Whitney	$2.06B	2.40	$460.82M	$5.43	10.62

Do analysts recommend ABCB or HWC?

Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $72.14, indicating a potential upside of 9.46%. Hancock Whitney has a consensus target price of $66.71, indicating a potential upside of 15.74%. Given Hancock Whitney's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Hancock Whitney is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86
Hancock Whitney	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Is ABCB or HWC more profitable?

Hancock Whitney has a net margin of 23.28% compared to Ameris Bancorp's net margin of 21.46%. Hancock Whitney's return on equity of 11.21% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Hancock Whitney	23.28%	11.21%	1.35%

Does the media favor ABCB or HWC?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 10 more articles in the media than Hancock Whitney. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 5 mentions for Hancock Whitney. Hancock Whitney's average media sentiment score of 1.06 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 0.67 indicating that Hancock Whitney is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ameris Bancorp	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Hancock Whitney	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk and volatility, ABCB or HWC?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hancock Whitney has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.2% of Hancock Whitney shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Hancock Whitney shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Hancock Whitney beats Ameris Bancorp on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.