Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Reaffirms Market Perform Rating for WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC)

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reissued by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $42.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 1.82% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, WesBanco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.20.

WesBanco Stock Up 2.9%

WesBanco stock opened at $41.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.94. WesBanco has a fifty-two week low of $29.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.31. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.69. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 0.67.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $275.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.71 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 23.35%. Equities research analysts expect that WesBanco will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In related news, Director Joseph R. Robinson bought 1,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $34.54 per share, with a total value of $34,540.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 19,068 shares in the company, valued at $658,608.72. This represents a 5.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jan Pattishall-Krupinski sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.71, for a total value of $165,195.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,318,770.04. The trade was a 11.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSBC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,819,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,399,000 after buying an additional 224,107 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in WesBanco by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,451,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,013,000 after acquiring an additional 59,077 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of WesBanco by 0.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,663,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,109,000 after purchasing an additional 14,147 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in WesBanco by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,764,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,883,000 after buying an additional 332,585 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in WesBanco by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,356,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,325,000 after buying an additional 15,673 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.