Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Acquires 26,733 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 553,881 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,733 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC owned about 0.58% of WesBanco worth $18,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bayview Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Bayview Asset Management LLC now owns 80,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,669,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 1.6% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 24,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 55.4% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

WesBanco Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WSBC opened at $35.39 on Thursday. WesBanco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.18 and a 1 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $34.81 and its 200 day moving average is $34.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.68.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $257.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $264.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. WesBanco’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is currently 49.03%.

WesBanco announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to repurchase 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In other WesBanco news, Director Louis Michael Altman acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $33.72 per share, for a total transaction of $101,160.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 33,164 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lee J. Burdman acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $33.60 per share, for a total transaction 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. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased 7,000 shares of company stock worth $236,500 over the last 90 days. 2.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.