Head-To-Head Review: Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) vs. FVCBankcorp (NASDAQ:FVCB)

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

43.6% of FVCBankcorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.2% of Hancock Whitney shares are held by institutional investors. 14.0% of FVCBankcorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Hancock Whitney shares are held by 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares FVCBankcorp and Hancock Whitney”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FVCBankcorp	$93.25 million	2.53	$3.82 million	$0.24	54.13
Hancock Whitney	$1.91 billion	2.29	$392.60 million	$4.29	11.81

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for FVCBankcorp and Hancock Whitney, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FVCBankcorp	0	0	0	0	N/A
Hancock Whitney	0	3	6	0	2.67

Hancock Whitney has a consensus price target of $56.67, suggesting a potential upside of 11.81%. Given Hancock Whitney’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Hancock Whitney is more favorable than FVCBankcorp.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FVCBankcorp	4.44%	7.16%	0.70%
Hancock Whitney	18.63%	11.51%	1.22%

Risk & Volatility

FVCBankcorp has a beta of 0.22, indicating that its share price is 78% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hancock Whitney has a beta of 1.26, indicating that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Hancock Whitney beats FVCBankcorp on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About FVCBankcorp

FVCBankcorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for FVCbank that provides various banking products and services in Virginia. It offers deposit products, including interest and noninterest-bearing transaction accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate loans; commercial construction loans; commercial loans for various business purposes, such as for working capital, equipment purchases, lines of credit, and government contract financing; small business administration loans; asset-based loans and accounts receivable financing; home equity loans; and consumer loans. In addition, it offers business and consumer credit cards; merchant services; business insurance products; and online banking, remote deposit, and mobile banking services. The company serves commercial businesses, nonprofit organizations, professional service entities, and their respective owners and employees located in the greater Washington, D.C., and Baltimore metropolitan areas. It operates branch offices in Arlington, Virginia; the independent city of Manassas, Virginia; Reston, Fairfax County, Virginia; Springfield, Fairfax County in Virginia; and Montgomery County and Baltimore in Maryland, and Washington, D.C. FVCBankcorp, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia.

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.