Head-To-Head Comparison: WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) versus Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

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

Earnings and Valuation

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

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

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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Bank OZK and WesBanco, as provided by MarketBeat.

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

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

Volatility & Risk

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

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

Dividends

Bank OZK pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. WesBanco pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Bank OZK pays out 31.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. WesBanco pays out 44.2% 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. Bank OZK has increased its dividend for 29 consecutive years and WesBanco has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Bank OZK is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

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

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

Summary

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

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.

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.