Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Acquires New Shares in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 58,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,297,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned approximately 0.06% of WesBanco at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WSBC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,819,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,399,000 after purchasing an additional 224,107 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in WesBanco by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,570,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,196,000 after purchasing an additional 81,974 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in WesBanco during the fourth quarter worth $1,492,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in WesBanco by 65.0% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 240,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,306,000 after buying an additional 94,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gator Capital Management LLC bought a new position in WesBanco during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,462,000. 61.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WesBanco Stock Down 0.2%

WSBC stock opened at $40.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $40.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.78. WesBanco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.57 and a 52-week high of $43.02. 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 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. 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 analyst estimates of $267.71 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

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

WesBanco announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kimberly L. Griffith sold 6,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was 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 directly 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Denise H. Knouse-Snyder sold 3,070 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.89, for a total value of $125,532.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,781.15. This represents a 16.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 39,695 shares of company stock worth $1,630,995. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WesBanco Company 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.