Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) vs. Mid Penn Bancorp (NASDAQ:MPB) Critical Analysis

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) and Mid Penn Bancorp (NASDAQ:MPB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

81.2% of Hancock Whitney shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.1% of Mid Penn Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Hancock Whitney shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.7% of Mid Penn Bancorp 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 and Risk

Hancock Whitney has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mid Penn Bancorp has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Hancock Whitney pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Mid Penn Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Hancock Whitney pays out 30.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mid Penn Bancorp pays out 27.6% 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. Mid Penn Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hancock Whitney	22.40%	11.56%	1.32%
Mid Penn Bancorp	15.99%	8.43%	0.87%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Hancock Whitney and Mid Penn Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hancock Whitney	0	2	6	1	2.89
Mid Penn Bancorp	0	0	2	0	3.00

Hancock Whitney currently has a consensus target price of $62.56, suggesting a potential upside of 3.79%. Mid Penn Bancorp has a consensus target price of $36.00, suggesting a potential upside of 20.00%. Given Mid Penn Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Mid Penn Bancorp is more favorable than Hancock Whitney.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hancock Whitney	$2.06 billion	2.52	$460.82 million	$5.28	11.41
Mid Penn Bancorp	$309.08 million	1.88	$49.44 million	$2.90	10.34

Hancock Whitney has higher revenue and earnings than Mid Penn Bancorp. Mid Penn 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.

Summary

Hancock Whitney beats Mid Penn Bancorp on 12 of the 17 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 Mid Penn Bancorp

Mid Penn Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Mid Penn Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals, partnerships, non-profit organizations, and corporations. The company offers various time and demand deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, clubs, money market deposit accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. It also provides a range of loan products comprising mortgage and home equity loans, secured and unsecured commercial and consumer loans, lines of credit, construction financing, farm loans, community development loans, loans to non-profit entities, and local government loans. In addition, the company offers trust, retail investment, wealth management, and insurance services; and provides online banking, telephone banking, cash management, and automated teller services, as well as safe deposit boxes. The company was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.