Reviewing OptimumBank (NASDAQ:OPHC) & Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC)

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

Analyst Recommendations

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

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

OptimumBank currently has a consensus price target of $6.67, indicating a potential downside of 27.06%. Hancock Whitney has a consensus price target of $83.78, indicating a potential upside of 12.56%. Given Hancock Whitney’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Hancock Whitney is more favorable than OptimumBank.

Risk & Volatility

OptimumBank has a beta of 0.29, suggesting that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hancock Whitney has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

7.4% of OptimumBank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.2% of Hancock Whitney shares are held by institutional investors. 18.7% of OptimumBank shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Hancock Whitney shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
OptimumBank	$58.79 million	1.96	$6.28 million	$0.87	10.51
Hancock Whitney	$2.02 billion	2.95	$486.07 million	$5.10	14.59

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.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
OptimumBank	19.62%	14.10%	1.31%
Hancock Whitney	21.81%	11.36%	1.41%

Summary

Hancock Whitney beats OptimumBank on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

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.