WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,819,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 224,107 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of WesBanco worth $326,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSBC. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in WesBanco by 179.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,543,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,779,000 after purchasing an additional 991,584 shares during the period. Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new position in shares of WesBanco during the 3rd quarter worth about $19,863,000. FJ Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 771.4% during the 3rd quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 654,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,892,000 after acquiring an additional 579,211 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of WesBanco during the 3rd quarter worth about $10,220,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 91.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 392,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,548,000 after purchasing an additional 187,659 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In other WesBanco news, Director Joseph R. Robinson acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lee J. Burdman bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $33.60 per share, for a total transaction of $100,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 46,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,571,539.20. This trade represents a 6.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders acquired a total of 7,940 shares of company stock worth $267,299 in the last quarter. 2.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WesBanco Stock Down 0.7%

WSBC stock opened at $34.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.18 and a 12 month high of $38.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.96.

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

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.