WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors cut its WesBanco stake by 93.3% in the third quarter, selling 185,553 shares and retaining 13,234 shares valued at about $495,000.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans to Hold: two analysts rate the stock Buy and five Hold, with a consensus price target of $43.60.
• WesBanco reported quarterly EPS of $0.89, slightly ahead of estimates, while revenue came in below expectations. Its quarterly dividend of $0.38 represents an annualized yield of about 3.9%.

ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Free Report) by 93.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,234 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 185,553 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in WesBanco were worth $495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in WesBanco by 1.5% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 22,752 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in WesBanco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 42.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 143,059 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,287,000 after purchasing an additional 42,428 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 39.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,546 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of WesBanco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $621,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson set a $46.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of WesBanco from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of WesBanco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of WesBanco from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $43.60.

WesBanco Trading Up 2.2%

NASDAQ WSBC opened at $39.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. WesBanco, Inc. has a one year low of $29.75 and a one year high of $43.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 0.70.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. WesBanco had a net margin of 23.70% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The firm had revenue of $272.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.88 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Scott A. Love sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.12, for a total transaction of $120,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,229 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,187.48. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Denise H. Knouse-Snyder sold 3,070 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.89, for a total value of $125,532.30. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $614,781.15. The trade was a 16.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About WesBanco

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WSBC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.