Kimberly Griffith Sells 6,875 Shares of WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Stock

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) EVP Kimberly Griffith sold 6,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total transaction of $283,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $653,349.60. This trade represents a 30.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

WesBanco Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ WSBC opened at $41.90 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.67. WesBanco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.18 and a twelve month high of $42.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $37.66 and its 200 day moving average is $35.85.

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

WesBanco declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that permits the company to repurchase 4,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WSBC. DA Davidson set a $46.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.20.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSBC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,819,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,399,000 after purchasing an additional 224,107 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,570,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,196,000 after purchasing an additional 81,974 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the fourth quarter worth $1,492,000. Gator Capital Management LLC bought a new position in WesBanco during the fourth quarter worth $1,462,000. Finally, Aristotle Capital Boston LLC bought a new position in WesBanco during the fourth quarter worth $11,279,000. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by 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.