WesBanco (WSBC) Competitors

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

Is WSBC or BUSE a better dividend stock?

WesBanco pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. 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.

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

61.4% of WesBanco shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of WesBanco shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of First Busey shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, 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	3.25	$151.51M	$1.66	19.44
First Busey	$663.36M	3.32	$113.69M	$1.12	22.09

Do analysts recommend WSBC or BUSE?

WesBanco currently has a consensus price target of $38.83, suggesting a potential upside of 20.34%. First Busey has a consensus price target of $27.33, suggesting a potential upside of 10.48%. Given WesBanco's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly 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

Does the media refer more to WSBC or BUSE?

In the previous week, WesBanco had 25 more articles in the media than First Busey. MarketBeat recorded 31 mentions for WesBanco and 6 mentions for First Busey. WesBanco's average media sentiment score of 1.57 beat First Busey's score of 1.03 indicating that WesBanco is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
WesBanco	17 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
First Busey	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, WSBC or BUSE?

WesBanco has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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%

Summary

WesBanco beats First Busey on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.