Clearstead Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Clearstead Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 65.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,266 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in WesBanco by 12,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in WesBanco by 255.1% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in WesBanco by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp raised its stake in WesBanco by 55.4% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in WesBanco by 71.9% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WSBC. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of WesBanco from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, March 12th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WesBanco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

WesBanco Stock Down 0.1%

WSBC stock opened at $34.65 on Friday. WesBanco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.18 and a 1-year high of $38.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.31. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.69.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. WesBanco had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The firm had revenue of $257.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $264.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

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

WesBanco announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 20th that permits the company to buyback 4,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Louis Michael Altman acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.72 per share, with a total value of $101,160.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 33,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,290.08. This trade represents a 9.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph R. Robinson acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $34.54 per share, with a total value of $34,540.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $658,608.72. The trade was a 5.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 7,940 shares of company stock valued at $267,299 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.07% 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.