Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 15,673 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,356,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,673 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.45% of WesBanco worth $78,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WSBC. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in WesBanco by 12,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in WesBanco by 255.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in WesBanco by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp grew its stake in WesBanco by 55.4% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in WesBanco by 71.9% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Louis Michael Altman bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $33.72 per share, with a total value of $101,160.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 33,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,290.08. This trade represents a 9.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lee J. Burdman bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.60 per share, with a total value of $100,800.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 46,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,571,539.20. This represents a 6.85% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired a total of 7,940 shares of company stock valued at $267,299 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of WesBanco from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.50.

WesBanco Price Performance

NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $34.39 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 0.68. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.18 and a 12 month high of $38.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $34.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.45.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. WesBanco had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The firm had revenue of $257.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to buyback 4,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. WesBanco’s payout ratio is 49.03%.

WesBanco Company Profile

WesBanco, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia, offering a full range of community banking services through its principal subsidiary, WesBanco Bank, Inc The company serves individual consumers, small‐ to mid‐sized businesses, nonprofit organizations and governmental entities with a relationship‐driven approach and an emphasis on local decision‐making. Through its diversified platform, WesBanco provides core banking functions such as deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage banking, treasury management and electronic banking services.

In addition to traditional banking products, WesBanco offers specialized services including trust and wealth management, investment advisory and insurance solutions.