Sifting through countless of stocks in the Banks industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. or Hancock Whitney Corporation because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. and Hancock Whitney Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. and Hancock Whitney Corporation

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for ServisFirst Bank that provides banking services to individual and corporate customers in the United States. It offers deposit services, including checking, money market, savings, and individual retirement arrangements (IRA) accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides real estate loans that consist of commercial real estate loans, 1-4 family residential real estate loans, and construction and development loans; consumer loans, such as home equity loans, vehicle financing, loans secured by deposits, and secured and unsecured personal loans; and commercial loans comprising seasonal, bridge, and term loans, as well as commercial lines of credit. In addition, it offers other banking services, such as 24-hour telephone banking, direct deposit, Internet banking, mobile banking, traveler’s checks, safe deposit boxes, attorney trust accounts, and automatic account transfers, as well as automated teller machines and debit and credit card systems. Further, the company provides treasury and cash management services; direct deposit, wire transfer, night depository, banking-by-mail and remote capture services for non-cash items; and correspondent banking services to other financial institutions. Additionally, it holds and manages participations in residential mortgages and commercial real estate loans originated by ServisFirst Bank in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

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 in the United States. The company offers various transaction and savings deposit products, such as brokered deposits, time deposits, and money market accounts; treasury management services; secured and unsecured loan products, including revolving credit facilities; letters of credit and similar financial guarantees; trust and investment management services to retirement plans, corporations, and individuals; and investment advisory and brokerage products. It also provides commercial and industrial loans, such as commercial non-real estate and real estate loans; construction and land development loans; residential mortgages; and consumer loans comprising second lien mortgage home loans, home equity lines of credit, and nonresidential consumer purpose loans, automobiles, recreational vehicles and boats, other personal purposes, deposit account secured loans, and small portfolio of credit card receivables. In addition, the company offers commercial finance products to middle market and corporate clients comprising leases and related structures; invests in new market tax credit activities and holds certain foreclosed assets; fixed annuity and life insurance products, investment management and advisory, and other services; and underwrites transactions primarily for banking clients, as well as debt and mortgage-related securities. The company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Latest Banks and ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc., Hancock Whitney Corporation Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. had a $4.6 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $750.0 million. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc.’s stock is up 18.4% in 2026, down 1.6% in the previous five trading days and down 3.3% in the past year.

Currently, ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 14.4. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $585.2 million with a 54.8% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 30.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.215 per share for the current fiscal year. ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. currently has a 1.8% dividend yield.

As of September 2, 2026, Hancock Whitney Corporation had a $6.0 billion market cap, putting it in the 70th percentile of all stocks. Hancock Whitney Corporation’s stock is up 18.7% in 2026, up 0.8% in the previous five trading days and up 20.21% in the past year.

Currently, Hancock Whitney Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 14.6. Hancock Whitney Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.4 billion with a 30.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 7.6%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.492 per share for the current fiscal year. Hancock Whitney Corporation currently has a 2.7% dividend yield.

How We Compare ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. and Hancock Whitney Corporation Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. and Hancock Whitney Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. and Hancock Whitney Corporation’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc.	SFBS	D
Hancock Whitney Corporation	HWC	D

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a Quality Score of 21, which is Weak. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a Quality Score of 29, which is Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. or Hancock Whitney Corporation has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. or Hancock Whitney Corporation is the better investment when it comes to quality.

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. and Hancock Whitney Corporation’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc.	SFBS	C
Hancock Whitney Corporation	HWC	C

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 45, which is Average. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a Momentum Score of 58, which is Average.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. or Hancock Whitney Corporation has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. or Hancock Whitney Corporation is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. and Hancock Whitney Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc.	SFBS	D
Hancock Whitney Corporation	HWC	C

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 39, which is Negative. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 41, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. or Hancock Whitney Corporation has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. or Hancock Whitney Corporation is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Other ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. and Hancock Whitney Corporation Grades

In addition to Quality, Estimate Revisions and Momentum, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Growth.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. and Hancock Whitney Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. or Hancock Whitney Corporation Stock?

Overall, ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. stock has a Momentum Score of 45, Estimate Revisions Score of 39 and Quality Score of 21.

Hancock Whitney Corporation stock has a Momentum Score of 58, Estimate Revisions Score of 41 and Quality Score of 29.

Comparing ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. and Hancock Whitney Corporation’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.