WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) EVP Robert Friend Sells 6,000 Shares

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) EVP Robert Friend sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.06, for a total transaction of $252,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $730,203.66. The trade was a 25.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

WesBanco Trading Up 0.3%

WSBC stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.32. 479,840 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 862,250. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.33. WesBanco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.57 and a 1 year high of $42.50.

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

WesBanco declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to repurchase 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSBC. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of WesBanco by 12,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in WesBanco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. First Horizon Corp increased its stake in WesBanco by 55.4% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in WesBanco by 71.9% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 54.5% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.20.

About WesBanco

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.