American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 452,174 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in WesBanco, Inc. by 331.2%, owning approximately $18.23 million worth of shares as of its latest SEC filing.
• WesBanco announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 4.5% with a payout ratio of 89.16%.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for WesBanco, with a target price averaging $38.83.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Free Report) by 331.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 588,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 452,174 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.88% of WesBanco worth $18,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 40.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,413,008 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $291,427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,702,469 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 42.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,793,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $179,358,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730,801 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,777,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $57,824,000 after purchasing an additional 379,386 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,537,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $50,022,000 after purchasing an additional 116,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,110,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,389,000 after purchasing an additional 238,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WSBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on WesBanco from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on WesBanco from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.83.

WesBanco Price Performance

Shares of WSBC stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $32.71. The company had a trading volume of 270,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 592,536. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.42 and a 12 month high of $37.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's fifty day moving average is $31.70 and its 200 day moving average is $31.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.94.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. WesBanco had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 11.65%.The company had revenue of $260.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $261.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio is currently 89.16%.

WesBanco Company Profile

WesBanco, Inc operates as the bank holding company for WesBanco Bank, Inc that provides retail banking, corporate banking, personal and corporate trust, brokerage, mortgage banking, and insurance services to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Community Banking, and Trust and Investment Services.