Insider Selling: WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) EVP Sells $252,360.00 in Stock

Key Points

• WesBanco EVP Robert Friend sold 6,000 shares at an average price of $42.06, generating $252,360 and reducing his stake by 25.68% to 17,361 shares.
• WSBC shares rose to $42.32, near their 52-week high of $42.50. The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.92 EPS and $275.79 million in revenue.
• WesBanco maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, yielding about 3.6%, and has authorized repurchases of up to 4 million shares. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy”, with an average price target of $43.20.

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) EVP Robert Friend sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.06, for a total transaction of $252,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,361 shares in the company, valued at $730,203.66. This represents a 25.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

WesBanco Price Performance

WSBC stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.32. 479,840 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 862,250. WesBanco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.57 and a 52 week high of $42.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 0.67.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $275.79 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.71 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 23.35% and a return on equity of 9.72%. As a group, research analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.19%.

WesBanco declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 4,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on WSBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $46.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WesBanco from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bayview Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of WesBanco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Bayview Asset Management LLC now owns 80,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,669,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC lifted its position in WesBanco by 3.4% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 10,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in WesBanco by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 50,414 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,677,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in WesBanco by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in WesBanco by 1.9% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 22,489 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company's stock.

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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