Bank of America Corp DE Makes New $84.56 Million Investment in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 2.17 million WesBanco shares worth approximately $84.6 million, giving it a 2.26% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 61.41% of the company.
• WesBanco exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.92 EPS versus the $0.85 consensus and revenue of $275.8 million versus $267.7 million expected. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $43.20.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, equivalent to $1.52 annually and a 3.9% yield; meanwhile, insiders sold nearly 39,700 shares worth about $1.63 million over the past 90 days.

Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,166,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $84,562,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 2.26% of WesBanco as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in WesBanco by 12,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Harbour Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of WesBanco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jan Pattishall-Krupinski sold 4,500 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.71, for a total transaction of $165,195.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 35,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,318,770.04. This trade represents a 11.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kimberly Griffith sold 6,875 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $283,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $653,349.60. This represents a 30.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 39,695 shares of company stock worth $1,630,995 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on WSBC. Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of WesBanco from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, September 14th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.20.

WesBanco Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of WSBC opened at $39.37 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $40.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. WesBanco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.57 and a 1-year high of $43.02.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $275.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.71 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 23.35% and a return on equity of 9.72%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.19%.

WesBanco Profile

WesBanco, Inc NASDAQ: WSBC is a financial services holding company headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia. Through its principal subsidiary, WesBanco Bank, the company provides community banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions.

WesBanco's offerings include checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgages, credit cards, treasury management and other deposit and lending products. The company also provides trust, investment management and brokerage services through its wealth management operations, along with insurance and employee benefit solutions in select markets.

Founded in 1870, WesBanco serves customers through a network of banking offices and financial service locations across West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Indiana.

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