Comparing WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) & Benchmark Bankshares (OTCMKTS:BMBN)

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) and Benchmark Bankshares (OTCMKTS:BMBN) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

61.4% of WesBanco shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.2% of Benchmark Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 2.8% of WesBanco shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.0% of Benchmark Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for WesBanco and Benchmark Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WesBanco	0	2	3	1	2.83
Benchmark Bankshares	0	0	0	0	0.00

WesBanco currently has a consensus price target of $38.8333, suggesting a potential upside of 24.55%. Given WesBanco’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe WesBanco is more favorable than Benchmark Bankshares.

Profitability

This table compares WesBanco and Benchmark Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WesBanco	11.65%	7.29%	1.00%
Benchmark Bankshares	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares WesBanco and Benchmark Bankshares”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WesBanco	$762.17 million	3.93	$151.51 million	$1.66	18.78
Benchmark Bankshares	$73.53 million	1.90	$15.85 million	N/A	N/A

WesBanco has higher revenue and earnings than Benchmark Bankshares.

Volatility and Risk

WesBanco has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Benchmark Bankshares has a beta of 0.14, meaning that its stock price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

WesBanco pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. Benchmark Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. WesBanco pays out 89.2% 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. WesBanco is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

WesBanco beats Benchmark Bankshares on 14 of the 16 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 Benchmark Bankshares

Benchmark Bankshares, Inc. operates as the holding company for Benchmark Community Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts various deposits, such as checking, saving, commercial services, and youth accounts. Its loan products include personal, mortgage, other real estate, business, auto, and student loans. The company also offers credit and debit cards; wealth management services comprising financial solutions, financial and retirement planning, and portfolio management, as well as estate, charitable giving, and trust services; and reorder checks, safe deposit boxes, wire transfers, bill pay, and internet and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1971 and is based in Kenbridge, Virginia.