Kimberly Griffith Sells 6,875 Shares of WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Stock

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) EVP Kimberly Griffith sold 6,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $283,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $653,349.60. This represents a 30.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

WesBanco Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ WSBC traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $42.01. 768,639 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 871,304. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.94. WesBanco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.18 and a 52-week high of $42.05. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $37.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.67.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $275.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.71 million. Analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.19%.

WesBanco declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to buyback 4,000,000 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSBC. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in WesBanco by 52.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 59,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 20,585 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 56.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,582,000 after buying an additional 18,347 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 1,553.3% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 179.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,543,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,779,000 after buying an additional 991,584 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of WesBanco by 60.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 216,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,704,000 after buying an additional 81,319 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WSBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of WesBanco from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. 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. According to MarketBeat, WesBanco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.20.

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.