Inspire Advisors LLC Grows Stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Key Points

• Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in WesBanco, Inc. by 26.9%, acquiring an additional 17,020 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total ownership to 80,204 shares valued at approximately $2.48 million.
• WesBanco recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.66, exceeding expectations of $0.60, with total revenue of $253.23 million for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 4.63%, with a payout ratio of 96.73%.

Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Free Report) by 26.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,204 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,020 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC owned 0.12% of WesBanco worth $2,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of WesBanco in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of WesBanco in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 807.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,814 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,614 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of WesBanco in the 4th quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 46.0% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,959 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WSBC. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. 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 note on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.83.

WesBanco Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of WesBanco stock traded down $0.75 on Wednesday, hitting $31.08. 273,065 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 606,970. The company has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29 and a beta of 0.85. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $31.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. WesBanco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.42 and a 52 week high of $37.36.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $260.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $261.14 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 6.07%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. WesBanco's payout ratio is 96.73%.

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.