Contrasting Lyons Bancorp (OTCMKTS:LYBC) and WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC)

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Lyons Bancorp and WesBanco, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lyons Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
WesBanco	0	3	3	0	2.50

WesBanco has a consensus price target of $36.17, suggesting a potential downside of 0.78%. Given WesBanco’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe WesBanco is more favorable than Lyons Bancorp.

Volatility and Risk

Lyons Bancorp has a beta of -0.07, meaning that its stock price is 107% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, WesBanco has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Lyons Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. WesBanco pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Lyons Bancorp pays out 36.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. WesBanco pays out 68.9% 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 13 consecutive years. WesBanco is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Lyons Bancorp and WesBanco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lyons Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A
WesBanco	14.79%	5.75%	0.78%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.3% of Lyons Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.4% of WesBanco shares are held by institutional investors. 3.4% of WesBanco shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Lyons Bancorp and WesBanco”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lyons Bancorp	$70.28 million	1.95	$17.35 million	$4.45	9.16
WesBanco	$831.96 million	2.93	$159.03 million	$2.09	17.44

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

Summary

WesBanco beats Lyons Bancorp on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lyons Bancorp

Lyons Bancorp Inc. operates as a financial holding company for The Lyons National Bank that provides a range of commercial and retail banking services to individual and small business customers. It offers checking accounts, savings accounts, individual retirement accounts, and certificates of deposit; commercial real estate, agricultural real estate, commercial and agricultural, and consumer instalment loans; and residential real estate loans, such as classes for 1-4 family and home equity loans, as well as consumer loans comprising recreational, auto, personal, personal line of credit, and home improvement loans; financial services, including retirement strategy, investment management, education savings, life insurance, long-term care insurance, and employer and employee benefit services. The company also provides mortgage, online and mobile banking, telephone banking, credit and debit card, online cash management, merchant, safe deposit boxes, wire transfer, traveller program, online bill pay, e-statements, money orders, and official checks services. It operates branches in Wayne, Onondaga, Yates, Ontario, Monroe, Seneca, and Cayuga counties, New York. The company was founded in 1852 and is headquartered in Lyons, New York.

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.