Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys Shares of 44,800 WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in WesBanco, buying 44,800 shares worth about $1.49 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with firms like Vanguard, Wellington, and State Street also adding to or maintaining large positions; overall, institutions hold about 61.41% of WesBanco shares.
• WesBanco has seen mixed but generally constructive signals from analysts and insiders: it carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating, recently beat EPS estimates in its latest quarter, and pays a quarterly dividend yielding about 3.9% while also authorizing a 4 million-share buyback.

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 44,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,492,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WSBC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in WesBanco by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,819,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $326,399,000 after purchasing an additional 224,107 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in WesBanco by 0.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,663,315 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $117,109,000 after buying an additional 14,147 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of WesBanco by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,764,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $91,883,000 after buying an additional 332,585 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of WesBanco by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,356,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,325,000 after buying an additional 15,673 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of WesBanco by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 1,872,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,230,000 after acquiring an additional 21,621 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WSBC. Zacks Research raised shares of WesBanco from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WesBanco from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $40.25.

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In other news, Director Louis Michael Altman purchased 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $33.72 per share, for a total transaction of $101,160.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 33,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,118,290.08. This trade represents a 9.95% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jan Pattishall-Krupinski sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,318,770.04. This represents a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 7,000 shares of company stock valued at $236,500. 2.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WesBanco Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WSBC traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.98. 750,959 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,094,989. WesBanco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.18 and a twelve month high of $40.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.24.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $257.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.52 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 21.12%.WesBanco's quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.03%.

WesBanco declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to buyback 4,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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