WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Shares Down 6% – Here’s What Happened

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) shares were down 6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $33.72 and last traded at $33.5840. Approximately 466,496 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the average daily volume of 541,366 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on WSBC. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WesBanco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of WesBanco from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.60.

WesBanco Stock Down 0.2%

The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.85.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. WesBanco had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 9.83%. The business had revenue of $257.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $264.52 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.43%.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In other news, Director Louis Michael Altman purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $33.72 per share, for a total transaction of $101,160.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 33,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,290.08. This represents a 9.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lee J. Burdman purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $33.60 per share, for a total transaction of $100,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 46,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,571,539.20. This represents a 6.85% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought a total of 6,940 shares of company stock worth $232,759 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in WesBanco by 12,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in WesBanco by 255.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in WesBanco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in WesBanco by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in WesBanco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.