Reviewing WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) and Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

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

Dividends

WesBanco pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Bank OZK pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. WesBanco pays out 44.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bank OZK pays out 31.7% 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 and Bank OZK has increased its dividend for 29 consecutive years. Bank OZK is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility and Risk

WesBanco has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bank OZK has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for WesBanco and Bank OZK, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WesBanco	0	3	3	1	2.71
Bank OZK	3	5	3	0	2.00

WesBanco presently has a consensus target price of $43.20, suggesting a potential upside of 6.19%. Bank OZK has a consensus target price of $56.88, suggesting a potential upside of 15.04%. Given Bank OZK’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Bank OZK is more favorable than WesBanco.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

61.4% of WesBanco shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.2% of Bank OZK shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of WesBanco shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Bank OZK shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares WesBanco and Bank OZK’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WesBanco	23.35%	9.72%	1.34%
Bank OZK	24.95%	11.87%	1.67%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares WesBanco and Bank OZK”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WesBanco	$1.05 billion	3.71	$223.10 million	$3.44	11.83
Bank OZK	$1.74 billion	3.18	$715.48 million	$6.05	8.17

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

Summary

Bank OZK beats WesBanco on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About WesBanco

WesBanco, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for WesBanco Bank, Inc. that provides retail banking, corporate banking, personal and corporate trust, brokerage, mortgage banking, and insurance services to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Community Banking, and Trust and Investment Services. It offers commercial demand, individual demand, and time deposit accounts; commercial, mortgage and individual installment loans; retail loans, such as residential real estate mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, and loans for other consumer purposes; installment loans to finance the purchase of automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, boats, and other recreational vehicles, as well as home equity installment loans, unsecured home improvement loans, and revolving lines of credit; and various non-traditional offerings, such as insurance and securities brokerage services. The company also provides trust services; and various alternative investment products, including mutual funds and annuities. In addition, it acts as an agency that specializes in property, casualty, life, and title insurance, as well as benefit plan sales and administration to personal and commercial clients; provides broker dealer and discount brokerage services; holds investment securities and loans; and holds and leases commercial real estate properties, as well as acts as an investment adviser to a family of mutual funds. WesBanco, Inc. was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia.

About Bank OZK

Bank OZK provides various retail and commercial banking services for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers deposit services, including non-interest bearing checking, interest bearing transaction, business sweep, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other accounts, as well as time and reciprocal deposits. It also provides trust and wealth services, such as personal trusts, custodial accounts, investment management accounts, and retirement accounts, as well as corporate trust services, including trustee, paying agent and registered transfer agent services, and other related services. In addition, the company offers treasury management services comprising automated clearing house, wire transfer, transaction reporting, wholesale lockbox, remote deposit capture, automated credit line transfer, reconciliation, positive pay, commercial card, and other services, as well as zero balance and investment sweep accounts. Further, it provides real estate, consumer, small business, indirect recreational vehicle and marine, equipment, agricultural, commercial and industrial, government guaranteed, lines of credit, homebuilder, and affordable housing loans; lender and structured, business aviation, and subscription financing services; and mortgage and other lending products. Additionally, the company offers ATMs; telephone, online, and mobile banking services; credit and debit cards; safe deposit boxes; and other products and services. The company was formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks and changed its name to Bank OZK in July 2018. Bank OZK was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.