Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) versus WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Financial Analysis

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for WesBanco and Popular, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WesBanco	0	1	3	2	3.17
Popular	0	1	11	0	2.92

WesBanco presently has a consensus price target of $40.60, indicating a potential upside of 14.04%. Popular has a consensus price target of $161.18, indicating a potential upside of 11.65%. Given WesBanco’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe WesBanco is more favorable than Popular.

Dividends

WesBanco pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Popular pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. WesBanco pays out 73.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Popular pays out 24.4% 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 Popular has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years. WesBanco is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WesBanco	$1.44 billion	2.38	$223.10 million	$2.07	17.20
Popular	$4.44 billion	2.11	$833.16 million	$12.32	11.72

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

Volatility & Risk

WesBanco has a beta of 0.74, indicating that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Popular has a beta of 0.59, indicating that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

61.4% of WesBanco shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.3% of Popular shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.1% of WesBanco shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Popular shares are owned by 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.

Profitability

This table compares WesBanco and Popular’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%
Popular	18.75%	13.70%	1.10%

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 Popular

Popular, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various retail, mortgage, and commercial banking products and services in Puerto Rico, the United States, and the British Virgin Islands. The company provides savings, NOW, money market, and other interest-bearing demand accounts; non-interest bearing demand deposits; and certificates of deposit. It also offers commercial and industrial, commercial multi-family, commercial real estate, and residential mortgage loans; consumer loans, including personal loans, credit cards, automobile loans, home equity lines of credit, and other loans to individual borrowers; construction loans; and lease financing comprising automobile loans/leases. In addition, the company provides investment banking, auto and equipment leasing and financing, broker-dealer, and insurance services; debit cards; and online banking services. Popular, Inc. was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.