Commerzbank (OTCMKTS:CRZBY) and WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Head to Head Review

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

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

Profitability

This table compares WesBanco and Commerzbank’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%
Commerzbank	13.30%	8.89%	0.53%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares WesBanco and Commerzbank”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	2.62	$223.10 million	$3.44	11.44
Commerzbank	$26.54 billion	1.93	$2.97 billion	$3.04	15.38

Commerzbank has higher revenue and earnings than WesBanco. WesBanco is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Commerzbank, 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 3.9%. Commerzbank pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. WesBanco pays out 44.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Commerzbank pays out 29.6% 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. WesBanco is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility & Risk

WesBanco has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Commerzbank has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for WesBanco and Commerzbank, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
WesBanco	0	3	3	1	2.71
Commerzbank	0	3	5	1	2.78

WesBanco presently has a consensus price target of $43.20, indicating a potential upside of 9.73%. Given WesBanco’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe WesBanco is more favorable than Commerzbank.

Summary

WesBanco beats Commerzbank on 11 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 Commerzbank

Commerzbank AG provides banking and capital market products and services to private and small business customers, corporate, financial service providers, and institutional clients in Germany, rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Private and Small-Business Customers, and Corporate Clients. The company offers saving, checking, business, and current accounts; term deposits; pension; credit and debit cards; payment solutions; overdraft services; various loans; and insurance products. It also provides trade securities; treasury management; corporate financing; real estate financing; financing advisory; merger and acquisition; foreign trade; trade financing; asset and risk management; and online banking, as well as wealth management services. Commerzbank AG was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.