WesBanco (WSBC) Competitors

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

Do institutionals and insiders believe in BUSE or WSBC?

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

Do analysts recommend BUSE or WSBC?

First Busey presently has a consensus target price of $27.67, indicating a potential upside of 14.09%. WesBanco has a consensus target price of $38.71, indicating a potential upside of 16.82%. Given WesBanco's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe WesBanco is more favorable than First Busey.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
WesBanco	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, BUSE or WSBC?

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
First Busey	$663.36M	3.27	$113.69M	$1.07	22.66
WesBanco	$953.62M	3.32	$151.51M	$1.53	21.66

Which has more volatility and risk, BUSE or WSBC?

First Busey has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WesBanco has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is BUSE or WSBC a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. WesBanco pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. First Busey pays out 93.5% 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 pays out 96.7% 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 has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years and WesBanco has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. WesBanco is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is BUSE or WSBC more profitable?

WesBanco has a net margin of 10.52% compared to First Busey's net margin of 8.32%. First Busey's return on equity of 8.46% beat WesBanco's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	8.32%	8.46%	0.96%
WesBanco	10.52%	6.07%	0.83%

Does the media refer more to BUSE or WSBC?

In the previous week, WesBanco had 3 more articles in the media than First Busey. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for WesBanco and 8 mentions for First Busey. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 0.56 beat WesBanco's score of 0.29 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Busey	2 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
WesBanco	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Summary

WesBanco beats First Busey on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.