Huntington National Bank Sells 14,483 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Huntington National Bank lessened its stake in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 68.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,483 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in WesBanco by 41.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in WesBanco by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 24,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in WesBanco by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $904,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in WesBanco by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp boosted its position in WesBanco by 55.4% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of WSBC stock opened at $34.65 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.68. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $34.49 and a 200 day moving average of $34.33. WesBanco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.18 and a 1 year high of $38.10.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $257.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.52 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 21.12%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is 49.03%.

WesBanco announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Louis Michael Altman bought 3,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $33.72 per share, for a total transaction of $101,160.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 33,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,290.08. The trade was a 9.95% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph R. Robinson bought 1,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $34.54 per share, with a total value of $34,540.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 19,068 shares in the company, valued at $658,608.72. The trade was a 5.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 7,940 shares of company stock worth $267,299 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco 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.