Head to Head Review: OptimumBank (NASDAQ:OPHC) and Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC)

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

Risk and Volatility

Hancock Whitney has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OptimumBank has a beta of 0.28, suggesting that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Hancock Whitney and OptimumBank, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hancock Whitney	0	3	7	1	2.82
OptimumBank	0	0	3	1	3.25

Hancock Whitney presently has a consensus price target of $83.78, suggesting a potential upside of 10.85%. OptimumBank has a consensus price target of $6.67, suggesting a potential downside of 25.51%. Given Hancock Whitney’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Hancock Whitney is more favorable than OptimumBank.

Profitability

This table compares Hancock Whitney and OptimumBank’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%
OptimumBank	19.62%	14.10%	1.31%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

81.2% of Hancock Whitney shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.4% of OptimumBank shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Hancock Whitney shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 18.7% of OptimumBank shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Hancock Whitney and OptimumBank”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hancock Whitney	$2.02 billion	3.00	$486.07 million	$5.10	14.82
OptimumBank	$58.79 million	1.92	$6.28 million	$0.87	10.29

Hancock Whitney has higher revenue and earnings than OptimumBank. OptimumBank 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 OptimumBank on 11 of the 14 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 OptimumBank

OptimumBank Holdings, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for OptimumBank that provides various consumer and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses. It accepts demand interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing, savings, money market, and NOW accounts, as well as time deposits, wire transfers, ACH services, and certificates of deposit. The company also offers residential and commercial real estate, multi-family real estate, land and construction loans; commercial loans are generally used for working capital purposes or for acquiring equipment, inventory, and furniture; and consumer loans for various purposes, including purchases of automobiles, recreational vehicles, boats, home improvements, lines of credit, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans. In addition, it provides Visa debit and ATM cards; cash management, notary, and night depository services; and direct deposits, money orders, cashier's checks, domestic collections, and banking by mail, as well as internet banking services. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.