KBC Group NV Has $86,000 Stock Position in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

KBC Group NV reduced its position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,959 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $86,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 40.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,413,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,427,000 after buying an additional 2,702,469 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in WesBanco by 42.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,793,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $179,358,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730,801 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in WesBanco by 35.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,456,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,052,000 after acquiring an additional 640,003 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in WesBanco by 4.6% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,859,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,568,000 after acquiring an additional 82,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in WesBanco by 9.6% in the second quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,565,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,528,000 after acquiring an additional 136,975 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of WSBC opened at $31.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93. WesBanco, Inc. has a one year low of $26.42 and a one year high of $37.36. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $31.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.54.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $261.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $263.38 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 13.91% and a return on equity of 8.55%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This is an increase from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is 75.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO K Weiss Daniel purchased 4,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,000. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Todd Clossin purchased 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $200,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 52,921 shares of company stock worth $1,339,995. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WSBC. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WesBanco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of WesBanco from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded WesBanco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.17.

About WesBanco

WesBanco, Inc operates as the bank holding company for WesBanco Bank, Inc that provides retail banking, corporate banking, personal and corporate trust, brokerage, mortgage banking, and insurance services to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Community Banking, and Trust and Investment Services.