Analyzing Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE) & WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WesBanco	13.91%	8.28%	1.12%
Cadence Bank	18.15%	9.97%	1.13%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for WesBanco and Cadence Bank, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WesBanco	0	4	2	1	2.57
Cadence Bank	0	9	2	0	2.18

WesBanco currently has a consensus target price of $40.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.35%. Cadence Bank has a consensus target price of $42.33, suggesting a potential downside of 5.02%. Given WesBanco’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe WesBanco is more favorable than Cadence Bank.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares WesBanco and Cadence Bank”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WesBanco	$953.62 million	3.46	$151.51 million	$1.96	17.54
Cadence Bank	$921.95 million	8.81	$523.60 million	$2.76	16.15

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

Dividends

WesBanco pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Cadence Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. WesBanco pays out 77.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Cadence Bank pays out 39.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. WesBanco has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Cadence Bank has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

61.4% of WesBanco shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.6% of Cadence Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 2.8% of WesBanco shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Cadence Bank shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

WesBanco has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cadence Bank has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Cadence Bank beats WesBanco on 9 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 Cadence Bank

Cadence Bank provides commercial banking and financial services. Its products and services include consumer banking, consumer loans, mortgages, home equity lines and loans, credit cards, commercial and business banking, treasury management, specialized and asset-based lending, commercial real estate, equipment financing, and correspondent banking services. The company’s products and services also comprise small business administration lending, foreign exchange, wealth management, investment and trust, financial planning, retirement plan management, and personal and business insurance services. Cadence Bank was founded in 1876 and is headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi.