WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group raised its stake in WesBanco by 2.3% in Q4 and now owns 9,819,476 shares (about 10.22%) valued at $326.4 million, while institutional investors hold 61.41% of the company.
• WesBanco beat EPS estimates ($0.91 vs. $0.86) despite revenue declining 3.1% year-over-year, and analysts have a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $39.50 target.
• Company insiders have been buying shares recently (directors bought 1,000 and 3,000 shares) and insiders purchased 7,940 shares in the last 90 days; WesBanco also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.38 (annualized $1.52) for a 4.4% yield.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Free Report) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,819,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 224,107 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.22% of WesBanco worth $326,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 74,703 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 8,107 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 55.4% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,302 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco in the 4th quarter valued at $219,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco in the 4th quarter valued at $721,000. Finally, Parthenon LLC acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco in the 4th quarter valued at $265,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

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

WesBanco Stock Performance

WesBanco stock opened at $34.20 on Friday. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.18 and a 12-month high of $38.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $34.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.96.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $257.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.52 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The company's revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. WesBanco's payout ratio is presently 49.03%.

WesBanco Company Profile

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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