WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings 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 issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.50.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on WesBanco from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th.

WesBanco Price Performance

WSBC stock opened at $36.77 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 0.68. WesBanco has a 52 week low of $29.18 and a 52 week high of $38.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.63.

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

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is presently 49.03%.

WesBanco declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to buyback 4,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In other news, Director Lee J. Burdman purchased 3,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $33.60 per share, for a total transaction of $100,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 46,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,571,539.20. This trade represents a 6.85% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Louis Michael Altman purchased 3,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,290.08. The trade was a 9.95% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 7,940 shares of company stock worth $267,299. Insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,819,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,399,000 after purchasing an additional 224,107 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 1.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,451,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,013,000 after purchasing an additional 59,077 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 0.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,663,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $117,109,000 after purchasing an additional 14,147 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,764,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,883,000 after purchasing an additional 332,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,356,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,325,000 after purchasing an additional 15,673 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.