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Zacks Value Trader Highlights: WesBanco, Bank OZK and First Busey
Read MoreHide Full Article
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – July 15, 2025 – Zacks Value Trader is a podcast hosted weekly by Zacks Stock Strategist Tracey Ryniec. Every week, Tracey will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds and ETFs and how it impacts your life. To listen to the podcast, click here: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2580126/3-cheap-bank-stocks-for-your-short-list)
3 Cheap Bank Stocks for Your Short List
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
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?
Big Banks Rally But Smaller Regionals Are Still Cheap
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.
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?
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?
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.]
Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.
Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Click here for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros.
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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Zacks Value Trader Highlights: WesBanco, Bank OZK and First Busey
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – July 15, 2025 – Zacks Value Trader is a podcast hosted weekly by Zacks Stock Strategist Tracey Ryniec. Every week, Tracey will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds and ETFs and how it impacts your life. To listen to the podcast, click here: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2580126/3-cheap-bank-stocks-for-your-short-list)
3 Cheap Bank Stocks for Your Short List
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.
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%.
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?
Big Banks Rally But Smaller Regionals Are Still Cheap
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.
3 Cheap Bank Stocks for Your Short List
1. WesBanco, Inc. (WSBC - Free Report)
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 - Free Report)
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 - Free Report)
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.]
Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.
Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners Up
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.
About Zacks
Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Click here for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros.
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zacksresearch
Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZacksInvestmentResearch/
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Media Contact
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https://www.zacks.com/performance
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.