HWC
Hancock Whitney Corporation
HWC's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has the edge over HWC overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger valuation.
HWC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
HWC's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like HWC.
MS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
MS's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like MS.
HWC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 8.1x | $40.37 | -38% |
| Forward | 9.2x | $65.00 | — |
| Fair | 10x | $52.07 | -20% |
| Expensive | 13x | $64.92 | -0.1% |
| Current | 13x | $65.00 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
HWC's PE is in its expensive range at 13x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 9.2x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
MS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 11x | $134 | -29% |
| Fair | 14x | $178 | -5.7% |
| Forward | 14x | $189 | — |
| Current | 15x | $189 | — |
| Expensive | 18x | $223 | +18% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MS has the edge over HWC in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
HWC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for HWC, with profitability improving.
MS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for MS, with profitability improving.
HWC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $7.08 | +43% |
| Q3 2026 | $4.96 | -11% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.09 | -6.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.86 | -10% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.67 | +7.4% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.59 | +25% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.43 | +28% |
| Q1 2025 | $5.42 | +26% |
| Q4 2024 | $5.28 | +17% |
HWC earned $4.96 per share over the past year, down 11% from the year before.
MS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $13.39 | +6.3% |
| Q3 2026 | $12.60 | +29% |
| Q2 2026 | $12.37 | +40% |
| Q1 2026 | $11.04 | +29% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.21 | +28% |
| Q3 2025 | $9.76 | +48% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.84 | +45% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.53 | +55% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.95 | +53% |
MS has the edge over HWC on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
HWC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $420.1M | +8.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $401.4M | +6.9% |
| Q1 2026 | $292.6M | -20% |
| Q4 2025 | $389.3M | +6.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $385.7M | +4.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $375.5M | +4.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $364.7M | +3% |
| Q4 2024 | $364.8M | +18% |
HWC's revenue grew through 2024 and has held roughly level since: $420M last quarter, up 8.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 34% | -7.8 points |
| Q2 2026 | 40% | +1.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 20% | -21 points |
| Q4 2025 | 41% | -0.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 42% | +2.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 39% | -1.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 41% | +3.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 41% | +21 points |
HWC has the edge over MS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
MS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $20.3B | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $21.3B | +27% |
| Q1 2026 | $20.6B | +16% |
| Q4 2025 | $17.9B | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $18.2B | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $16.8B | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $17.7B | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $16.2B | +26% |
MS has the edge over HWC on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 32% | -1.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 34% | +6.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 34% | +2.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 32% | +2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 33% | +5.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | 28% | +0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 31% | +2.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 30% | +14 points |
MS's operating margin was 32% last quarter, down 1.2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
HWC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $255M | +65% |
| Q2 2026 | $150.4M | +23% |
| Q1 2026 | $108.4M | +8.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $145.9M | -23% |
| Q3 2025 | $155M | -2.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $122M | +18% |
| Q1 2025 | $100.2M | -39% |
| Q4 2024 | $188.8M | +104% |
HWC has the edge over MS on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
MS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$46B | -$42.7B |
| Q2 2026 | -$2.7B | -123% |
| Q1 2026 | -$7.1B | +$16.9B |
| Q4 2025 | -$2.4B | -120% |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.3B | +$14B |
| Q2 2025 | $11.8B | +368% |
| Q1 2025 | -$24B | -650% |
| Q4 2024 | $11.8B | +$29.6B |
MS's free cash flow was −$58.3B over the past year, against −$3.7B the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like MS.
HWC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -1.1% | -873K shares |
| 1 year | -5.7% | -4.8M shares |
| 3 years | -6.7% | -5.8M shares |
| 5 years | -7.3% | -6.4M shares |
| Available history | -6.9% | -6M shares |
HWC has the edge over MS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $82.4M |
| Q2 2026 | $46.5M |
| Q1 2026 | $94.6M |
| Q4 2025 | $146.6M |
| Q3 2025 | $40.1M |
| Q2 2025 | $39.4M |
| Q1 2025 | $20.7M |
| Q4 2024 | $7.9M |
HWC spent $370M buying back its own shares over the past year, about three times what it spent the year before.
MS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -3M shares |
| 1 year | -1.5% | -24M shares |
| 3 years | -4.7% | -77M shares |
| 5 years | -14% | -246M shares |
| Available history | -4.5% | -74M shares |
MS has 1.6B diluted shares, down 1.5% from a year ago.
HWC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.7x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q4 2025 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 1.2x | Healthy |
| Q1 2025 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.5x | Very low |
HWC has the edge over MS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
MS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 7.8x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 7.3x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 8.2x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 8.6x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 8.4x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 8.7x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 8.7x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 7.9x | High |
MS's net debt is about 7.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 8.4 years a year ago. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like MS.
HWC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 34.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 31.9 | Neutral |
HWC's weekly RSI is 34 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 32 (neutral).
MS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 45.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 18.7 | Oversold |
MS's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 19 (oversold).
HWC PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | HWC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 13x | 13x | 0.6% above |
| PE % | 83 | 63 | 20 pts above |
HWC has the edge over MS on valuation relative to its sector.
MS PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | MS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 15x | 13x | 15% above |
| PE % | 59 | 63 | 4 pts below |
MS is trading at 15x earnings, a 15% premium to the Financial Services sector's median of 13x.
HWC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $71.8 | 9.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $74.5 | 13% below |
| 50 week MA | $70.1 | 7.3% below |
| 100 week MA | $63.6 | 2.2% above |
| 200 week MA | $54.3 | 20% above |
HWC has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 20% above its 200-week average.
MS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $186.5 | 1.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $203.3 | 6.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $191.9 | 1.4% below |
| 100 week MA | $164.9 | 15% above |
| 200 week MA | $129.3 | 46% above |
MS has the edge over HWC on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
HWC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $43.8 | $34.2 | -22% |
| 2021 | $34.2 | $48.6 | +42% |
| 2022 | $48.6 | $48.5 | -0.3% |
| 2023 | $48.5 | $48.6 | +0.2% |
| 2024 | $48.6 | $54.9 | +13% |
| 2025 | $54.9 | $65.2 | +19% |
| 2026 YTD | $65.2 | $65.0 | -0.3% |
HWC has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's roughly flat so far in 2026.
MS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $51.1 | $68.1 | +33% |
| 2021 | $68.1 | $99.3 | +46% |
| 2022 | $99.3 | $86.1 | -13% |
| 2023 | $86.1 | $93.3 | +8.3% |
| 2024 | $93.3 | $126.8 | +36% |
| 2025 | $126.8 | $181.9 | +43% |
| 2026 YTD | $181.9 | $189.2 | +4% |
MS has the edge over HWC on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.