Maltese Capital Management LLC Sells 126,981 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Key Points

• Maltese Capital Management cut its WesBanco stake by 31.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 126,981 shares and leaving it with 275,000 shares worth about $9.14 million.
• Insider buying was positive: directors Joseph R. Robinson and Louis Michael Altman bought shares recently, and insiders acquired 7,940 shares worth $267,299 over the last 90 days.
• WesBanco’s outlook remains mixed but generally constructive, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating, a $39.50 price target, a new 4 million-share buyback authorization, and a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share.

Maltese Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Free Report) by 31.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 275,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 126,981 shares during the period. WesBanco accounts for 1.6% of Maltese Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Maltese Capital Management LLC owned about 0.29% of WesBanco worth $9,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSBC. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in WesBanco by 52.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 59,983 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 20,585 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in WesBanco by 56.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 18,347 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in WesBanco by 1,553.3% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,017 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in WesBanco by 179.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,543,243 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,779,000 after purchasing an additional 991,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in WesBanco by 60.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 216,545 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,704,000 after purchasing an additional 81,319 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WesBanco

In other news, Director Joseph R. Robinson purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $34.54 per share, with a total value of $34,540.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $658,608.72. This represents a 5.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Louis Michael Altman purchased 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.72 per share, with a total value of $101,160.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 33,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,118,290.08. This trade represents a 9.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 7,940 shares of company stock worth $267,299. Insiders own 2.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WSBC. Zacks Research cut shares of WesBanco from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WesBanco from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.50.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of WesBanco stock opened at $36.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $34.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.68. WesBanco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.18 and a 52 week high of $38.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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

WesBanco declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 20th that permits the company to repurchase 4,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. WesBanco's payout ratio is presently 49.03%.

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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