WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $40.51 and last traded at $40.6030, with a volume of 60583 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.25.

WesBanco Stock Up 3.7%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $36.18 and its 200 day moving average is $35.35. The company has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22 and a beta of 0.67. 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. WesBanco had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 21.12%.The firm had revenue of $257.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $264.52 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is currently 49.03%.

WesBanco announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan 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. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WesBanco news, Director Lee J. Burdman bought 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $33.60 per share, for a total transaction of $100,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,571,539.20. The trade was a 6.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Louis Michael Altman acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $33.72 per share, for a total transaction of $101,160.00. Following the completion of 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 SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased a total of 7,000 shares of company stock valued at $236,500 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in WesBanco by 12,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WesBanco in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its position in shares of WesBanco by 55.4% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in WesBanco by 71.9% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is 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.