WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WSBC. Zacks Research upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. DA Davidson set a $46.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of WesBanco from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WesBanco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.20.

WesBanco Stock Performance

WSBC stock opened at $41.81 on Friday. WesBanco has a 1-year low of $29.23 and a 1-year high of $42.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $38.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.01. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $275.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.71 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 23.35% and a return on equity of 9.72%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WesBanco will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 20th that permits the company to repurchase 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kimberly L. Griffith sold 6,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $283,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $653,349.60. This trade represents a 30.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jan Pattishall-Krupinski sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.45, for a total transaction of $93,262.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,395,787.30. The trade was a 6.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 28,625 shares of company stock worth $1,168,982 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WSBC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 224,107 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in WesBanco by 1.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,451,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,013,000 after purchasing an additional 59,077 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position 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 buying an additional 332,585 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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.

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.