Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Position in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 189.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 124,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 81,214 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in WesBanco were worth $3,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 77.9% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 1.4% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in WesBanco by 34.9% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in WesBanco by 4.0% during the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 14,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in WesBanco by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 68,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,173,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler began coverage on WesBanco in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson cut shares of WesBanco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WesBanco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director F Eric Nelson, Jr. sold 752 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.37, for a total transaction of $25,094.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of WSBC opened at $37.89 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.57. The company has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. WesBanco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.42 and a twelve month high of $38.10.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.84. WesBanco had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The company had revenue of $265.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.43%.

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.