If you are building a properly diversified stock portfolio, the chances are some of your picks will perform badly. Long term Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ:HWC) shareholders know that all too well, since the share price is down considerably over three years. Regrettably, they have had to cope with a 60% drop in the share price over that period. And the ride hasn't got any smoother in recent times over the last year, with the price 55% lower in that time. Furthermore, it's down 11% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders. This could be related to the recent financial results - you can catch up on the most recent data by readingour company report.

Check out our latest analysis for Hancock Whitney

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

Hancock Whitney saw its share price decline over the three years in which its EPS also dropped, falling to a loss. Since the company has fallen to a loss making position, it's hard to compare the change in EPS with the share price change. However, we can say we'd expect to see a falling share price in this scenario.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

Dive deeper into Hancock Whitney's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Hancock Whitney'searnings, revenue and cash flow.

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for Hancock Whitney the TSR over the last 3 years was -56%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

Investors in Hancock Whitney had a tough year, with a total loss of 54% (including dividends), against a market gain of about 9.9%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 4.9% per year over five years. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Hancock Whitney better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for Hancock Whitney that you should be aware of.

Of course Hancock Whitney may not be the best stock to buy . So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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.

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