• If you are wondering whether Hancock Whitney is still good value after its recent run, the stock's current setup makes a closer look at its valuation especially relevant.
• The share price sits at US$67.67, with returns of 5.0% year to date and 23.9% over the last year, in addition to longer term gains of 50.7% over 3 years and 95.7% over 5 years. However, the stock has seen a 4.4% decline over the past week and a modest 0.7% move over the past month.
• Recent coverage of Hancock Whitney has focused on its position within the US regional banking sector, regulatory developments affecting banks of its size, and how balance sheet strength compares with peers. This context helps frame why the market may be reassessing both its risk profile and potential return, which often feeds directly into the price you see on screen.
• On our framework of 6 valuation checks, Hancock Whitney earns a score of 5, suggesting it screens as undervalued on most measures. Next we will look at those methods in more detail and also highlight an even richer way to think about valuation at the end of the article.

Approach 1: Hancock Whitney Excess Returns Analysis

The Excess Returns model looks at how much value a company can create over and above the return that equity investors require. Instead of focusing on cash flows, it compares the return on equity to the cost of equity and then builds up an estimate of what that is worth per share today.

For Hancock Whitney, book value sits at $54.22 per share, while stable earnings are estimated at $6.82 per share, based on weighted future Return on Equity estimates from 7 analysts. The average Return on Equity is 11.22%, and the cost of equity is $4.24 per share. That gap produces an excess return of $2.58 per share, which is what this model treats as value created after covering investors' required return.

The model also uses a stable book value estimate of $60.81 per share, based on forecasts from 6 analysts, to capture longer term growth in the equity base. Putting these inputs together gives an intrinsic value of about $133.11 per share.

Against the current share price of $67.67, this indicates that Hancock Whitney trades at a 49.2% discount, based on this approach.

Result: UNDERVALUED

Our Excess Returns analysis suggests Hancock Whitney is undervalued by 49.2%. Track this in your watchlist or portfolio, or discover 51 more high quality undervalued stocks.

Approach 2: Hancock Whitney Price vs Earnings

For a profitable bank like Hancock Whitney, the P/E ratio is a useful shorthand for what the market is currently willing to pay for each dollar of earnings. Investors typically weigh growth expectations and risk when thinking about what a normal or fair P/E should look like, with higher expected growth or lower perceived risk often supporting a higher multiple, and the reverse also holding true.

Hancock Whitney currently trades on a P/E of 11.50x. That sits close to the broader Banks industry average P/E of 11.66x, and below the peer group average of 15.39x. Simply Wall St's Fair Ratio for Hancock Whitney comes in at 12.46x, which is a proprietary estimate of the P/E you might expect given factors such as its earnings profile, industry, profit margins, market cap and specific risks.

This Fair Ratio can be more informative than a simple comparison with peers or the industry, because it aims to tailor the multiple to the company’s own characteristics rather than relying only on broad market groupings. Set against the current P/E of 11.50x, the Fair Ratio of 12.46x suggests Hancock Whitney screens as undervalued on this measure.

Result: UNDERVALUED

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Upgrade Your Decision Making: Choose your Hancock Whitney Narrative

Earlier we mentioned that there is an even better way to understand valuation. On Simply Wall St’s Community page you can use Narratives to link your view of Hancock Whitney’s story to your own forecast and fair value, compare that to the current price to help you decide whether it looks attractive or stretched, and see it all update as new news or earnings arrive. For example, one investor might build a Narrative around the US$70.25 analyst consensus target with revenue of US$1.8b, earnings of US$525.8m, EPS of US$6.45 by 2028 and a P/E of 13.0x. Another might plug in more cautious assumptions for revenue growth, margins or the future P/E, leading to a lower fair value. Yet both are using the same simple framework to turn their story into numbers.

Do you think there's more to the story for Hancock Whitney? Head over to our Community to see what others are saying!

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.