Comparing Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) & Eagle Bancorp (NASDAQ:EGBN)

Eagle Bancorp (NASDAQ:EGBN) and Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

78.0% of Eagle Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.2% of Hancock Whitney shares are held by institutional investors. 3.1% of Eagle Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Hancock Whitney shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Eagle Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.1%. Hancock Whitney pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Eagle Bancorp pays out 71.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hancock Whitney pays out 28.0% 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 2 consecutive years.

Volatility and Risk

Eagle Bancorp has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hancock Whitney has a beta of 1.31, suggesting that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Eagle Bancorp and Hancock Whitney’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eagle Bancorp	$647.06 million	0.91	$100.53 million	$2.51	7.87
Hancock Whitney	$1.91 billion	2.18	$392.60 million	$4.29	11.25

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eagle Bancorp	11.14%	6.11%	0.67%
Hancock Whitney	19.07%	11.89%	1.22%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Eagle Bancorp and Hancock Whitney, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eagle Bancorp	0	1	0	0	2.00
Hancock Whitney	0	3	4	0	2.57

Eagle Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $23.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.58%. Hancock Whitney has a consensus target price of $51.43, indicating a potential upside of 5.78%. Given Eagle Bancorp’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Eagle Bancorp is more favorable than Hancock Whitney.

Summary

Hancock Whitney beats Eagle Bancorp on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eagle Bancorp

Eagle Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for EagleBank that provides commercial and consumer banking services primarily in the United States. The company also offers various commercial and consumer lending products comprising commercial loans for working capital, equipment purchases, real estate lines of credit, and government contract financing; asset based lending and accounts receivable financing; construction and commercial real estate loans; business equipment financing; consumer home equity lines of credit, personal lines of credit, and term loans; consumer installment loans, such as auto and personal loans; personal credit cards; and residential mortgage loans. In addition, it provides online and mobile banking services; checking and saving accounts; and other deposit services, including cash management services, business sweep accounts, lock boxes, remote deposit captures, account reconciliation services, merchant card services, safety deposit boxes, and automated clearing house origination, as well as after-hours depositories and ATM services. Further, the company offers insurance products and services through a referral program; and treasury management services. The company serves sole proprietors, small and medium-sized businesses, partnerships, corporations, and non-profit organizations and associations, as well as investors. Eagle Bancorp, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.

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.