WesBanco (WSBC) Competitors

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

Is WSBC or BUSE 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
WesBanco	10.52%	6.07%	0.83%
First Busey	8.32%	8.46%	0.96%

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 4.2%. 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 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 has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years and First Busey has raised 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 believe 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 hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend WSBC or BUSE?

WesBanco presently has a consensus price target of $38.71, indicating a potential upside of 20.31%. First Busey has a consensus price target of $27.67, indicating a potential upside of 16.84%. Given WesBanco's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, 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)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86
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, First Busey had 6 more articles in the media than WesBanco. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for First Busey and 6 mentions for WesBanco. WesBanco's average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat First Busey's score of 0.97 indicating that WesBanco is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
WesBanco	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Busey	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has stronger valuation & 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	3.23	$151.51M	$1.53	21.03
First Busey	$663.36M	3.19	$113.69M	$1.07	22.13

Which has more risk & volatility, WSBC or BUSE?

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

Summary

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