Head to Head Analysis: Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) versus OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC)

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) and OceanFirst Financial (NASDAQ:OCFC) 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, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Hancock Whitney and OceanFirst Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hancock Whitney	$1.46 billion	4.13	$486.07 million	$5.10	14.75
OceanFirst Financial	$437.72 million	4.15	$70.98 million	$0.85	22.09

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

81.2% of Hancock Whitney shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.0% of OceanFirst Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Hancock Whitney shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of OceanFirst Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hancock Whitney	21.81%	11.36%	1.41%
OceanFirst Financial	6.38%	5.34%	0.59%

Dividends

Hancock Whitney pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. OceanFirst Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Hancock Whitney pays out 39.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. OceanFirst Financial pays out 94.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Hancock Whitney has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Risk & Volatility

Hancock Whitney has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OceanFirst Financial has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Hancock Whitney and OceanFirst Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hancock Whitney	0	3	7	1	2.82
OceanFirst Financial	0	5	1	0	2.17

Hancock Whitney currently has a consensus price target of $83.78, suggesting a potential upside of 11.33%. OceanFirst Financial has a consensus price target of $21.50, suggesting a potential upside of 14.48%. Given OceanFirst Financial’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe OceanFirst Financial is more favorable than Hancock Whitney.

Summary

Hancock Whitney beats OceanFirst Financial on 12 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 OceanFirst Financial

OceanFirst Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for OceanFirst Bank N.A. that provides community banking services to retail and commercial customers. It accepts money market accounts, savings accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, non-interest-bearing accounts, and time deposits, that includes brokered deposits to retail, government, and business customers. The company also offers commercial real estate, multi-family, land loans, construction, and commercial and industrial loans; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage loans that are secured by one-to-four family residences; and consumer loans, such as home equity loans and lines of credit, student loans, overdraft line of credit, loans on savings accounts, and other consumer loans. In addition, it invests in mortgage-backed securities, securities issued by the U.S. Government and agencies, corporate securities, and other investments. Further, the company offers bankcard, trust and asset management services; and bank owned life insurance products. The company was founded in 1902 and is based in Red Bank, New Jersey.