Verition Fund Management LLC Grows Stake in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,872,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,621 shares during the quarter. WesBanco comprises 0.2% of Verition Fund Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Verition Fund Management LLC owned about 1.95% of WesBanco worth $62,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,819,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,399,000 after buying an additional 224,107 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,570,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,196,000 after purchasing an additional 81,974 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in WesBanco by 14.2% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 162,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,194,000 after buying an additional 20,269 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 84.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 39,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 18,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gator Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of WesBanco in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,462,000. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of WesBanco stock opened at $36.77 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.63. WesBanco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.18 and a 1 year high of $38.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.03%.

WesBanco announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 4,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In other news, Director Louis Michael Altman acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $33.72 per share, with a total value of $101,160.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 33,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,290.08. This represents a 9.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph R. Robinson bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $34.54 per share, for a total transaction of $34,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $658,608.72. This trade represents a 5.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought a total of 7,940 shares of company stock worth $267,299 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

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.