Insider Buying: WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Director Acquires 8,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Joseph Robinson purchased 8,000 shares of WesBanco stock at $25.00 each, totaling $200,000, significantly increasing his ownership in the company.
• WesBanco has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, with an annualized yield of 4.6%, to be paid on October 1st.
• Analysts have upgraded WesBanco's stock rating from "hold" to "buy," with a consensus price target set at $38.83.

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) Director Joseph R. Robinson bought 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $200,000. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

WesBanco Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WSBC traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $32.05. 845,359 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 517,486. The company's 50-day moving average is $31.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. WesBanco had a net margin of 11.65% and a return on equity of 7.29%. The company had revenue of $260.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $261.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSBC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in WesBanco by 40.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,413,008 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $291,427,000 after acquiring an additional 2,702,469 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in WesBanco by 42.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,793,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $179,358,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730,801 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in WesBanco by 949.3% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,281,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159,158 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in WesBanco by 179.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,543,243 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,779,000 after acquiring an additional 991,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in WesBanco in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,869,000. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About WesBanco

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.