Wall Street Zen Downgrades WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) to Sell

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on WSBC. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on WesBanco from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $46.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.20.

WesBanco Stock Performance

WSBC stock opened at $41.38 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $37.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.95. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $29.18 and a fifty-two week high of $42.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.67.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $275.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.71 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 23.35%. Analysts expect that WesBanco will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jayson M. Zatta sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.80, for a total transaction of $522,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 81,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,389,227.60. The trade was a 13.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kimberly L. Griffith sold 6,875 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 30.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,625 shares of company stock valued at $1,168,982. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WSBC. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 12,500.0% in 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 period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. First Horizon Corp grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 55.4% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in WesBanco by 71.9% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio increased its holdings in WesBanco by 54.5% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

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.