WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $39.50.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WSBC. Zacks Research cut WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings raised WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on WesBanco from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd.

WesBanco Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ WSBC opened at $34.60 on Thursday. WesBanco has a one year low of $29.18 and a one year high of $38.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $34.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 0.69.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. WesBanco had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 21.12%.The firm had revenue of $257.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $264.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WesBanco will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is 49.03%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lee J. Burdman acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $33.60 per share, with a total value of $100,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 46,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,571,539.20. This trade represents a 6.85% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Louis Michael Altman acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $33.72 per share, for a total transaction of $101,160.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 33,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,118,290.08. This represents a 9.95% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 7,940 shares of company stock valued at $267,299. Corporate insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bayview Asset Management LLC increased its stake in WesBanco by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Bayview Asset Management LLC now owns 80,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,669,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in WesBanco by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its stake in WesBanco by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 10,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in WesBanco by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 50,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in WesBanco by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 24,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

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.