WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

Wall Street Zen cut shares of WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on WSBC. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research upgraded WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. DA Davidson set a $46.00 price target on WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WesBanco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.20.

WesBanco Price Performance

WSBC stock opened at $41.38 on Friday. WesBanco has a 52-week low of $29.18 and a 52-week high of $42.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $37.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.94.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $275.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.71 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 23.35% and a return on equity of 9.72%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that WesBanco will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to repurchase 4,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WesBanco news, EVP Jan Pattishall-Krupinski sold 2,250 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.45, for a total value of $93,262.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,395,787.30. The trade was a 6.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kimberly L. Griffith sold 6,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $283,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,858 shares in the company, valued at $653,349.60. This represents a 30.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 28,625 shares of company stock worth $1,168,982 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in WesBanco by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,819,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,399,000 after acquiring an additional 224,107 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its position in WesBanco by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,570,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,196,000 after acquiring an additional 81,974 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,492,000. Gator Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,462,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in shares of WesBanco by 65.0% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 240,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,306,000 after purchasing an additional 94,863 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.