Zacks Value Trader Highlights: WesBanco, Bank OZK and First Busey
Investors have hated bank stocks since the financial crisis 17 years ago.
Regional banks are dirt cheap. OZK, BUSE and WSBC have P/B ratios under 1.3.
Get income. These 3 banks pay dividends yielding between 3% and 5%.
Description:
Welcome to Episode #411 of the Value Investor Podcast.
(0:30) - Is Now The Time For Value Investors To Add Banks To Their Portfolios?
(7:00) - Finding Strong Stock Picks To Keep On Your Watch List Right Now
(29:45) - Episode Roundup: JPM, C, PNC, KEY, OZK, BUSE, WSBC
Podcast@Zacks.com
3 Key Takeaways
Investors have hated bank stocks since the financial crisis 17 years ago.
Regional banks are dirt cheap. OZK, BUSE and WSBC have P/B ratios under 1.3.
Get income. These 3 banks pay dividends yielding between 3% and 5%.
Investors have hated bank stocks since the financial crisis 17 years ago.
Regional banks are dirt cheap. OZK, BUSE and WSBC have P/B ratios under 1.3.
Get income. These 3 banks pay dividends yielding between 3% and 5%.
Description:
Every week, Tracey Ryniec, the editor of Zacks Value Investor portfolio, shares some of her top value investing tips and stock picks.
Are the value bank stocks back in vogue?
For 17 years, since the Great Recession began in 2008, the bank stocks have been blacklisted for investors. Every time it seemed like the worst was over, an event like the 2023 Bank Crisis occured to say otherwise.
Yet, in 2025, the banks are cheap, with strong balance sheets and attractive dividend yields.
But is this just another fake out?
The large banks, like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, have already staged big rallies. JPMorgan Chase has been breaking out to new all-time highs.
But the truly cheap stocks aren't among the large cap banks. JPMorgan Chase now trades with a P/B ratio over 2.0, which means its fully valued. The smaller regional banks, however, are still hated, and are even cheaper.
Tracey shares three of her favorite regional banks as the second quarter earnings reports are about to roll out.
1. WesBanco, Inc. WSBC
WesBanco is a 150-year-old Wheeling, West Virginia regional bank. It recently acquired Premier Financial to expand its business in the Mid-Atlantic and Ohio Valley. WesBanco has a market cap of $3.2 billion.
Shares of WesBanco are up just 1.9% year-to-date but have gained 12.1% over the last year. It's cheap on a price-to-book (P/E) level. Bank analysts say to buy banks with a P/B ratio of 1.0 and sell at 2.0. WesBanco's P/B ratio is currently 0.88. It's dirt cheap.
Earnings are expected to jump 32.5% this year. WesBanco also pays an attractive dividend, yielding 4.4%.
Should WesBanco be on value investors' short lists?
2. Bank OZK OZK
Bank OZK is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas and is known as a real estate bank due to its big real estate development loan portfolio. Bank OZK has a market cap of $5.9 billion and offices in 9 states.
Shares of Bank OZK are up 16.5% year-to-date. Yet it's still cheap. Bank OZK trades with a P/B ratio of just 1.07.
Bank OZK also pays a dividend, currently yielding 3.3%.
Should a real estate bank, like Bank OZK, be on your short list?
3. First Busey Corp. BUSE
First Busey Corp. is the holding company for First Busey Bank, headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. However, the company recently acquired CrossFirst out of Leawood, Kansas, to create a bank with 77 locations across 10 states. First Busey Corp. will be headquartered in Leawood. It has a market cap of $2.2 billion.
Shares of First Busey are up 2.2% year-to-date but are still in the red for the last year, down 5.1%. But it's dirt cheap. First Busey trades with a P/B ratio of just 0.6.
Earnings are expected to jump 19.7% in 2025. First Busey also has an attractive dividend of 4.1%. Insiders think there's value. They have been buying shares of First Busey in the last few months.
Is this a buying opportunity in First Busey?
What Else Should You Know About Cheap Bank Stocks?
Tune into this week's podcast to find out.
[In full disclosure, Tracey owns WSBC in the Value Investor and her own personal portfolio. Zacks Insider Trader also owns BUSE.]
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Tracey Ryniec is the Value Stock Strategist for Zacks.com. She is also the Editor of the Insider Trader and Value Investor services. You can follow her on twitter at @TraceyRyniec and she also hosts the Zacks Market Edge Podcast on iTunes.
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WesBanco, Inc. (WSBC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
First Busey Corporation (BUSE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Bank OZK (OZK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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