Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Boosts Stake in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 239.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 30,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,373 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $1,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of WesBanco by 12,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in WesBanco in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in WesBanco by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp lifted its position in WesBanco by 55.4% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph R. Robinson bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $34.54 per share, with a total value of $34,540.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 19,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $658,608.72. This represents a 5.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Louis Michael Altman bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $33.72 per share, for a total transaction of $101,160.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 33,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,290.08. This represents a 9.95% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 7,000 shares of company stock worth $236,500. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WesBanco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.25.

WesBanco Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $38.98 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 0.67. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.18 and a 12-month high of $40.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. WesBanco had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 21.12%.The business had revenue of $257.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were paid 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 3.9%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is presently 49.03%.

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.