Analyzing Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) & First Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:FCBC)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hancock Whitney	23.99%	11.29%	1.38%
First Community Bancshares	27.07%	9.68%	1.54%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Hancock Whitney and First Community Bancshares”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hancock Whitney	$2.06 billion	2.29	$460.82 million	$5.59	9.96
First Community Bancshares	$185.53 million	3.32	$51.60 million	$2.73	12.32

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

Risk and Volatility

Hancock Whitney has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Community Bancshares has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Hancock Whitney and First Community Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hancock Whitney	0	1	6	1	3.00
First Community Bancshares	0	1	0	0	2.00

Hancock Whitney presently has a consensus target price of $69.86, suggesting a potential upside of 25.42%. Given Hancock Whitney’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Hancock Whitney is more favorable than First Community Bancshares.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

81.2% of Hancock Whitney shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.0% of First Community Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Hancock Whitney shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of First Community Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Hancock Whitney pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. First Community Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Hancock Whitney pays out 32.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Community Bancshares pays out 45.4% 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 and First Community Bancshares has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. First Community Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

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

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.

About First Community Bancshares

First Community Bankshares, Inc. operates as the financial holding company for First Community Bank that provides various banking products and services. It offers demand deposit accounts, savings and money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement plans; and commercial, consumer real estate, and consumer and other loans. The company also provides trust management, estate administration, and investment advisory services; and investment management services. It serves individuals and businesses across various industries, such as education, government, and health services; coal mining and gas extraction; retail trade; construction; manufacturing; tourism; and transportation. The company operates through branches in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Community Bankshares, Inc. was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in Bluefield, Virginia.