WesBanco (WSBC) Competitors

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) and WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, community ranking, media sentiment, valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in WAL or WSBC?

Western Alliance Bancorporation received 263 more outperform votes than WesBanco when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 65.92% of users gave Western Alliance Bancorporation an outperform vote while only 51.14% of users gave WesBanco an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Western Alliance Bancorporation	Outperform Votes 532 65.92%	Underperform Votes 275 34.08%
WesBanco	Outperform Votes 269 51.14%	Underperform Votes 257 48.86%

Is WAL or WSBC more profitable?

WesBanco has a net margin of 15.89% compared to Western Alliance Bancorporation's net margin of 15.49%. Western Alliance Bancorporation's return on equity of 13.14% beat WesBanco's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western Alliance Bancorporation	15.49%	13.14%	1.01%
WesBanco	15.89%	6.30%	0.86%

Which has more volatility & risk, WAL or WSBC?

Western Alliance Bancorporation has a beta of 1.43, meaning that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WesBanco has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is WAL or WSBC a better dividend stock?

Western Alliance Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. WesBanco pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Western Alliance Bancorporation pays out 21.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. WesBanco pays out 66.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. 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.

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, WAL or WSBC?

Western Alliance Bancorporation has higher revenue and earnings than WesBanco. Western Alliance Bancorporation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than WesBanco, 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
Western Alliance Bancorporation	$3.16B	2.76	$787.70M	$7.10	11.11
WesBanco	$600.17M	3.56	$151.51M	$2.24	14.25

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of WAL or WSBC?

79.2% of Western Alliance Bancorporation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.4% of WesBanco shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of Western Alliance Bancorporation shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of WesBanco shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts recommend WAL or WSBC?

Western Alliance Bancorporation currently has a consensus price target of $98.07, suggesting a potential upside of 24.27%. WesBanco has a consensus price target of $40.83, suggesting a potential upside of 27.92%. Given WesBanco's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe WesBanco is more favorable than Western Alliance Bancorporation.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western Alliance Bancorporation	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.93
WesBanco	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.83

Does the media prefer WAL or WSBC?

In the previous week, WesBanco had 8 more articles in the media than Western Alliance Bancorporation. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for WesBanco and 5 mentions for Western Alliance Bancorporation. Western Alliance Bancorporation's average media sentiment score of 0.62 beat WesBanco's score of 0.57 indicating that Western Alliance Bancorporation is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Western Alliance Bancorporation	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
WesBanco	5 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Western Alliance Bancorporation beats WesBanco on 13 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.