Reviewing ACNB (NASDAQ:ACNB) & WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC)

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

Risk and Volatility

WesBanco has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ACNB has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

61.4% of WesBanco shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.4% of ACNB shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of WesBanco shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of ACNB shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

WesBanco pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. ACNB pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. WesBanco pays out 44.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ACNB pays out 31.9% 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 14 consecutive years and ACNB has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years. WesBanco is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
WesBanco	23.35%	9.72%	1.34%
ACNB	27.15%	13.78%	1.77%

Analyst Ratings

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WesBanco	0	5	2	0	2.29
ACNB	0	2	2	0	2.50

WesBanco currently has a consensus price target of $43.60, suggesting a potential upside of 13.04%. ACNB has a consensus price target of $64.50, suggesting a potential downside of 0.97%. Given WesBanco’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe WesBanco is more favorable than ACNB.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
WesBanco	$1.05 billion	3.52	$223.10 million	$3.44	11.21
ACNB	$191.82 million	3.45	$37.05 million	$5.27	12.36

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

Summary

ACNB 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 ACNB

ACNB Corporation, a financial holding company, offers banking, insurance, and financial services to individual, business, and government customers in the United States. The company provides checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts, as well as time deposits and debit cards. It also offers commercial lending products, such as commercial mortgages, real estate development and construction loans, accounts receivable and inventory financing, and agricultural and governmental loans; consumer lending products, including home equity loans and lines of credit, automobile and recreational vehicle loans, manufactured housing loans, and personal lines of credit; and mortgage lending programs include personal residential mortgages, and residential construction and investment mortgage loans. In addition, the company provides other services that are related to testamentary trusts, life insurance trusts, charitable remainder trusts, guardianships, powers of attorney, custodial accounts, and investment management and advisory accounts; and retail brokerage services. Further, it acts as a trustee to invest in, protect, manage, and distribute financial assets. Additionally, the company offers property and casualty, health, life, and disability insurance products to commercial and personal clients; and online, telephone, and mobile banking, as well as automated teller machine services. ACNB Corporation was founded in 1857 and is headquartered in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.