Contrasting Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) & Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC)

Hawthorn Bancshares (NASDAQ:HWBK) and Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Hawthorn Bancshares 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
Hawthorn Bancshares	$111.97 million	2.38	$23.80 million	$3.82	10.11
Hancock Whitney	$1.46 billion	4.01	$486.07 million	$5.10	14.33

Hancock Whitney has higher revenue and earnings than Hawthorn Bancshares. Hawthorn Bancshares 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 & Risk

Hawthorn Bancshares has a beta of 0.47, meaning that its stock price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hancock Whitney has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Hawthorn Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Hancock Whitney pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Hawthorn Bancshares pays out 22.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hancock Whitney pays out 39.2% 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. Hawthorn Bancshares has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years and Hancock Whitney has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Hawthorn Bancshares and Hancock Whitney, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hawthorn Bancshares	0	0	1	0	3.00
Hancock Whitney	0	3	7	1	2.82

Hancock Whitney has a consensus target price of $84.22, suggesting a potential upside of 15.23%. Given Hancock Whitney’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Hancock Whitney is more favorable than Hawthorn Bancshares.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hawthorn Bancshares	22.77%	15.15%	1.42%
Hancock Whitney	21.81%	11.36%	1.41%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

30.7% of Hawthorn Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.2% of Hancock Whitney shares are held by institutional investors. 22.9% of Hawthorn Bancshares 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 endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Hancock Whitney beats Hawthorn Bancshares on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hawthorn Bancshares

Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Hawthorn Bank that provides various banking services in the United States. It accepts checking, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also offers commercial and industrial, single payment personal, installment, commercial and residential real estate, and consumer loans, as well as equipment, operating, and small business administration loans; and debit and credit cards. In addition, it provides trust services that include estate planning, investment, and asset management services; and cash management, safety deposit box, brokerage, and Internet banking services. Hawthorn Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Jefferson City, Missouri.

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.