WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) versus USCB Financial (NASDAQ:USCB) Financial Analysis

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

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares WesBanco and USCB Financial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WesBanco	$1.44 billion	2.43	$223.10 million	$2.07	17.57
USCB Financial	$159.60 million	2.28	$26.10 million	$1.30	15.35

WesBanco has higher revenue and earnings than USCB Financial. USCB Financial 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 4.2%. USCB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. WesBanco pays out 73.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. USCB Financial pays out 38.5% 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 raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years and USCB Financial has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. WesBanco is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

61.4% of WesBanco shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.3% of USCB Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of WesBanco shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 49.5% of USCB Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares WesBanco and USCB Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WesBanco	15.51%	8.81%	1.19%
USCB Financial	16.36%	14.86%	1.20%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for WesBanco and USCB Financial, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WesBanco	0	1	3	2	3.17
USCB Financial	0	1	3	1	3.00

WesBanco presently has a consensus target price of $40.60, indicating a potential upside of 11.66%. USCB Financial has a consensus target price of $22.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.28%. Given WesBanco’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe WesBanco is more favorable than USCB Financial.

Risk & Volatility

WesBanco has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, USCB Financial has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

WesBanco beats USCB Financial on 12 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 USCB Financial

USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for U.S. Century Bank that engages in the provision of various personal and business banking products and services in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including commercial and consumer checking, money market deposit, savings, and time deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. It also offers loan products, such as small business administration loans, yacht financing, residential and commercial real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans; foreign bank loans; and secured and unsecured consumer loans comprising personal loans, overdrafts, and deposit account collateralized loans. The company also offers lockbox, treasury, commercial payments, cash management, and online banking services, as well as provides title insurance policies for real estate transactions. USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.