WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) EVP Robert H. Friend Acquires 800 Shares

Key Points

• WesBanco EVP Robert Friend acquired 800 shares of the company's stock at $25.00 per share, totaling $20,000, boosting his holdings to 800 shares valued at $20,000.
• The company recently reported a quarterly EPS of $0.91, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.87, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.37 with a yield of 4.7%.
• WesBanco has received an upgraded rating from "hold" to "buy" from Wall Street Zen, with an average target price of $38.83 according to market consensus.

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) EVP Robert H. Friend purchased 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $20,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,000. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WSBC traded down $0.43 during trading on Monday, hitting $31.84. 255,396 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 592,240. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $31.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15 and a beta of 0.85. WesBanco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.42 and a 1-year 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 firm had revenue of $260.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $261.14 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 11.65%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in WesBanco by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 75,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,472,000 after acquiring an additional 3,944 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in shares of WesBanco in the 4th quarter worth about $200,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 48,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,582,000 after buying an additional 17,097 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,066,000 after buying an additional 1,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 492,167 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,015,000 after buying an additional 58,214 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised WesBanco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.83.

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.