Which Is a Better Investment, Fulton Financial Corp or Hancock Whitney Corp Stock?

By Jenna Brashear
September 10, 2026
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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 Fulton Financial Corporation 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 Fulton Financial Corporation and Hancock Whitney Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Fulton Financial Corporation and Hancock Whitney Corporation

Fulton Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Fulton Bank that provides banking and financial products and services in the United States. It provides various checking accounts and savings deposit products, and certificates of deposit. The company also offers consumer loans products, including home equity loans and lines of credit; construction and jumbo residential mortgage loans; automobile, student, and personal loans; account overdraft protection; commercial lending products comprising commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, and construction loans, as well as equipment lease financing loans. In addition, it offers letters of credit, cash management services, and traditional deposit products; and wealth management services, including investment management, trust, brokerage, insurance, and investment advisory services. Further, the company owns trust preferred securities; and sells various life insurance products. It provides its products and services through financial center locations, as well as through a network of automated teller machines, telephone banking, mobile banking, and online banking. The company was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

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 Fulton Financial Corporation, Hancock Whitney Corporation Stock News

As of September 9, 2026, Fulton Financial Corporation had a $4.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $749.3 million. Fulton Financial Corporation’s stock is up 22.1% in 2026, down 0.4% in the previous five trading days and up 20.48% in the past year.

Currently, Fulton Financial Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 11.3. Fulton Financial Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.3 billion with a 29.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 13.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.217 per share for the current fiscal year. Fulton Financial Corporation currently has a 3.2% dividend yield.

As of September 9, 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 16.8% in 2026, down 0.6% in the previous five trading days and up 18.33% in the past year.

Currently, Hancock Whitney Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 14.5. 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 Fulton Financial Corporation 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 Fulton Financial Corporation and Hancock Whitney Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Fulton Financial Corporation and Hancock Whitney Corporation Growth Grades

Company Ticker Growth
Fulton Financial Corporation FULT A
Hancock Whitney Corporation HWC A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Fulton Financial Corporation has a Growth Score of 100, which is Very Strong. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a Growth Score of 83, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Growth Grade breakdown above, both Fulton Financial Corporation and Hancock Whitney Corporation have a grade of A. For investors who focus solely on a company’s upward growth, further research should be conducted into both companies’ other financial metrics before deciding whether to invest.

Fulton Financial Corporation and Hancock Whitney Corporation’s Quality Grades

Company Ticker Quality
Fulton Financial Corporation FULT F
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.

Fulton Financial Corporation has a Quality Score of 13, which is Very Weak. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a Quality Score of 29, which is Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Fulton Financial Corporation 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 Fulton Financial Corporation or Hancock Whitney Corporation is the better investment when it comes to quality.

Fulton Financial Corporation and Hancock Whitney Corporation’s Momentum Grades

Company Ticker Momentum
Fulton Financial Corporation FULT 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%.

Fulton Financial Corporation has a Momentum Score of 58, which is Average. Hancock Whitney Corporation has a Momentum Score of 57, which is Average.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Fulton Financial Corporation 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 Fulton Financial Corporation or Hancock Whitney Corporation is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

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Other Fulton Financial Corporation and Hancock Whitney Corporation Grades

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

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

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 Fulton Financial Corporation 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, Fulton Financial Corporation or Hancock Whitney Corporation Stock?

Overall, Fulton Financial Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 100, Momentum Score of 58 and Quality Score of 13.

Hancock Whitney Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 83, Momentum Score of 57 and Quality Score of 29.

Comparing Fulton Financial Corporation 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.

Learn More About A+ Investor

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.



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