Renaissance Technologies LLC Lowers Stake in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its holdings in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 16.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 184,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 36,434 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $6,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in WesBanco by 2.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 224,107 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in WesBanco by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,570,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,196,000 after acquiring an additional 81,974 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in WesBanco during the 4th quarter valued at $1,492,000. Gator Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in WesBanco during the 4th quarter valued at $1,462,000. Finally, Aristotle Capital Boston LLC purchased a new stake in WesBanco during the 4th quarter worth $11,279,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WesBanco

In other WesBanco news, EVP Jayson M. Zatta sold 12,500 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.80, for a total value of $522,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 81,082 shares in the company, valued at $3,389,227.60. The trade was a 13.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jan Pattishall-Krupinski sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 28,625 shares of company stock worth $1,168,982 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $42.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $38.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. WesBanco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.23 and a 52 week high of $42.42.

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

WesBanco declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. WesBanco’s payout ratio is currently 44.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WSBC shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on WesBanco from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.20.

WesBanco 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.