Insider Selling: WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) EVP Sells $522,500.00 in Stock

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) EVP Jayson Zatta sold 12,500 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.80, for a total transaction of $522,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 81,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,389,227.60. The trade was a 13.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

WesBanco Price Performance

NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $41.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. WesBanco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.18 and a 52 week high of $42.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.67.

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

WesBanco declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to buyback 4,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WSBC. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of WesBanco from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $46.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WesBanco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its stake in WesBanco by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 928,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,033,000 after purchasing an additional 6,784 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 0.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,696,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,524,000 after buying an additional 14,397 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 65.0% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 240,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,306,000 after buying an additional 94,863 shares during the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of WesBanco in the first quarter valued at about $223,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 14.7% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 104,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,605,000 after buying an additional 13,393 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.