WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)’s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $33.96 and traded as high as $34.74. WesBanco shares last traded at $34.20, with a volume of 561,370 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

WesBanco Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $257.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.52 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The company’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is 49.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Joseph R. Robinson acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $34.54 per share, for a total transaction of $34,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $658,608.72. The trade was a 5.53% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lee J. Burdman acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $33.60 per share, with a total value of $100,800.00. Following the transaction, 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. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 7,940 shares of company stock worth $267,299. Company insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WSBC. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 52.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 59,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 20,585 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 56.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 18,347 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 1,553.3% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 179.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,543,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,779,000 after purchasing an additional 991,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 60.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 216,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,704,000 after purchasing an additional 81,319 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

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.