Empowered Funds LLC Purchases New Shares in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 419,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,391,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.44% of WesBanco at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WSBC. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in WesBanco by 12,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of WesBanco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 71.9% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 54.5% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of WesBanco in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WesBanco news, EVP Jan Pattishall-Krupinski sold 4,500 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.71, for a total value of $165,195.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,318,770.04. The trade was a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Robert H. Friend sold 6,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.06, for a total transaction of $252,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,203.66. This trade represents a 25.68% 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 over the last quarter. 2.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WSBC. Zacks Research raised WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. DA Davidson set a $46.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WesBanco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.20.

WesBanco Stock Down 0.1%

WSBC stock opened at $40.42 on Friday. WesBanco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.57 and a twelve month high of $43.02. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average of $40.48 and a 200 day moving average of $36.82.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.71 million. On average, research analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 20th that permits the company to repurchase 4,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

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

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.