WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) vs. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) Critical Survey

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina (NASDAQ:PEBK) and WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation and risk.

Volatility & Risk

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WesBanco has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. WesBanco pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina pays out 23.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. WesBanco pays out 49.0% 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. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and WesBanco has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. WesBanco is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and WesBanco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	17.22%	13.07%	1.16%
WesBanco	21.12%	9.76%	1.33%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

43.8% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.4% of WesBanco shares are held by institutional investors. 14.5% of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of WesBanco shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and WesBanco”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	$114.60 million	2.11	$19.83 million	$3.63	12.23
WesBanco	$1.44 billion	2.39	$223.10 million	$3.10	11.51

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina and WesBanco, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina	0	0	1	0	3.00
WesBanco	1	1	3	1	2.67

WesBanco has a consensus price target of $39.50, indicating a potential upside of 10.66%. Given WesBanco’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe WesBanco is more favorable than Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina.

Summary

WesBanco beats Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Peoples Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and small-to medium-sized businesses. It offers checking, savings, money market, and retirement accounts; certificates of deposits; and credit and debit cards. The company also originates commercial real estate loans, commercial loans, construction and land development loans, and residential mortgage loans; and individual taxpayer identification number mortgage loans, as well as agricultural loans. In addition, it provides investment counseling and non-deposit investment products, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, tax deferred annuities, and related brokerage services; and real estate appraisal and brokerage services. Further, the company operates as a clearing-house for the provision of appraisal services for community banks; and acquires, manages, and disposes real property, other collateral, and other assets obtained in the ordinary course of collecting debts. Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Newton, North Carolina.

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.