WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Receives $43.20 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.20.

Several brokerages have issued reports on WSBC. Zacks Research upgraded WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. DA Davidson set a $46.00 price target on WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on WesBanco from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st.

WesBanco Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $41.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $38.66 and its 200 day moving average is $36.22. WesBanco has a fifty-two week low of $29.32 and a fifty-two week high of $42.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.94.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted 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 business had revenue of $275.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $267.71 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 23.35% and a return on equity of 9.72%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that WesBanco will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given 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 payout ratio is 44.19%.

WesBanco declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In other WesBanco news, EVP Jayson M. Zatta sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.80, for a total value of $522,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 81,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,389,227.60. This represents a 13.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jan Pattishall-Krupinski sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.71, for a total value of $165,195.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,924 shares in the company, valued at $1,318,770.04. The trade was a 11.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,625 shares of company stock valued at $1,168,982. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSBC. Bayview Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Bayview Asset Management LLC now owns 80,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,669,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in WesBanco by 3.4% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 10,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in WesBanco by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 50,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in WesBanco by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in WesBanco by 1.9% in the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 22,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.