Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC – Get Rating) and Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG – Get Rating) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
78.4{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6} of Hancock Whitney shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.8{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6} of Citizens Financial Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6} of Hancock Whitney shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6} of Citizens Financial Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Volatility & Risk
Hancock Whitney has a beta of 1.4, suggesting that its stock price is 40{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6} more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Citizens Financial Group has a beta of 1.45, suggesting that its stock price is 45{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6} more volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Hancock Whitney pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6}. Citizens Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6}. Hancock Whitney pays out 18.7{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6} of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Citizens Financial Group pays out 39.5{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6} 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. Citizens Financial Group has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Citizens Financial Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Hancock Whitney and Citizens Financial Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Hancock Whitney | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3.00 |
| Citizens Financial Group | 1 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 2.54 |
Hancock Whitney presently has a consensus target price of $57.17, indicating a potential upside of 19.67{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6}. Citizens Financial Group has a consensus target price of $48.33, indicating a potential upside of 28.17{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6}. Given Citizens Financial Group’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Citizens Financial Group is more favorable than Hancock Whitney.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Hancock Whitney and Citizens Financial Group’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Hancock Whitney | $1.35 billion | 3.06 | $463.21 million | $5.79 | 8.25 |
| Citizens Financial Group | $6.99 billion | 2.67 | $2.32 billion | $3.95 | 9.55 |
Citizens Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than Hancock Whitney. Hancock Whitney is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Citizens Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Hancock Whitney and Citizens Financial Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Hancock Whitney | 38.60{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6} | 14.41{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6} | 1.42{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6} |
| Citizens Financial Group | 25.04{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6} | 10.26{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6} | 1.10{194d821e0dc8d10be69d2d4a52551aeafc2dee4011c6c9faa8f16ae7103581f6} |
About Hancock Whitney
Hancock Whitney Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Hancock Whitney Bank that provides a range of banking products and services to commercial, small business, and retail customers. It accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest-bearing demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, and time deposit accounts. The company’s loan products include commercial and industrial loans; commercial real estate loans; construction and land development loans; residential mortgages, including fixed and adjustable-rate loans; consumer loans comprising second lien mortgage home loans, home equity lines of credit, and nonresidential consumer purpose loans; revolving credit facilities; and letters of credit and financial guarantees. It also offers investment brokerage and treasury management services, and annuity and life insurance products; and trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations, and individuals, as well as holds foreclosed assets. The company operates 177 full-service banking and financial services offices, and 240 automated teller machines, primarily in the Gulf south corridor, including southern and central Mississippi; southern and central Alabama; southern, central, and northwest Louisiana; the northern, central, and panhandle regions of Florida; and certain areas of east Texas, including Houston, Beaumont, Dallas, and San Antonio. It also operates a loan production office in Nashville, Tennessee; and a trust and asset management office in Marshall, Texas. The company was formerly known as Hancock Holding Company and changed its name to Hancock Whitney Corporation in May 2018. Hancock Whitney Corporation was founded in 1883 and is headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi.
About Citizens Financial Group
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Citizens Bank, National Association that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, corporations, and institutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking. The Consumer Banking segment offers deposit products, mortgage and home equity lending products, credit cards, business loans, wealth management, and investment services; and auto, education, and point-of-sale finance loans, as well as digital deposit products. This segment serves its customers through telephone service centers, as well as through its online and mobile platforms. The Commercial Banking segment provides various financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, and interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as syndicated loans, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and debt and equity capital markets services. This segment serves government banking, not-for-profit, healthcare, technology, professionals, oil and gas, asset finance, franchise finance, asset-based lending, commercial real estate, private equity, and sponsor finance industries. It operates approximately 1,200 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia; 114 retail and commercial non-branch offices in national markets; and approximately 3,300 automated teller machines. The company was formerly known as RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc. and changed its name to Citizens Financial Group, Inc. in April 2014. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1828 and is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island.
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