WesBanco (WSBC) Competitors

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) and First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, media sentiment, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Is WSBC or BUSE a better dividend stock?

WesBanco pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. WesBanco pays out 89.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. First Busey pays out 89.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. WesBanco has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years and First Busey has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. WesBanco is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is WSBC or BUSE more profitable?

WesBanco has a net margin of 11.65% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. First Busey's return on equity of 8.76% beat WesBanco's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WesBanco	11.65%	7.29%	1.00%
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%

Do analysts rate WSBC or BUSE?

WesBanco currently has a consensus target price of $38.83, indicating a potential upside of 18.72%. First Busey has a consensus target price of $27.17, indicating a potential upside of 10.03%. Given WesBanco's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe WesBanco is more favorable than First Busey.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WesBanco	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.83
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in WSBC or BUSE?

61.4% of WesBanco shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. 2.8% of WesBanco shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of First Busey shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, WSBC or BUSE?

WesBanco has higher revenue and earnings than First Busey. WesBanco is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Busey, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WesBanco	$953.62M	3.29	$151.51M	$1.66	19.70
First Busey	$663.36M	3.32	$113.69M	$1.12	22.04

Which has more volatility and risk, WSBC or BUSE?

WesBanco has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor WSBC or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 2 more articles in the media than WesBanco. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for First Busey and 14 mentions for WesBanco. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 1.61 beat WesBanco's score of 1.30 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
WesBanco	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Busey	15 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Summary

WesBanco beats First Busey on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.