Cullen Capital Management LLC Makes New $705,000 Investment in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Cullen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 18,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $705,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covestor Ltd grew its position in WesBanco by 12,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 71.9% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 54.5% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in WesBanco by 260.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $40.51 on Wednesday. WesBanco, Inc. has a one year low of $29.57 and a one year high of $43.02. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $40.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.07. WesBanco had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 23.35%.The business had revenue of $275.79 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.71 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.19%.

WesBanco declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 4,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, DA Davidson set a $46.00 price target on WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, WesBanco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WesBanco news, Director Denise H. Knouse-Snyder sold 3,070 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.89, for a total value of $125,532.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,781.15. This represents a 16.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kimberly L. Griffith sold 6,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $283,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,858 shares in the company, valued at $653,349.60. The trade was a 30.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 39,695 shares of company stock worth $1,630,995 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

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.