Arizona State Retirement System Grows Position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Free Report) by 48.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,323 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in WesBanco were worth $793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WSBC. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,747,000. Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco in the first quarter worth $201,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 10.7% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 3,195 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of WesBanco by 45.4% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in WesBanco by 67.5% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,907 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WSBC. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of WesBanco from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.71.

WesBanco Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WSBC traded down $0.55 on Thursday, hitting $32.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 152,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 609,530. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.42 and a 12-month high of $37.36. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.67 and a 200-day moving average of $31.86.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $253.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $206.63 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 6.07%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio is presently 96.73%.

About WesBanco

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.