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

Key Points

• WesBanco Director F Eric Nelson Jr purchased 8,000 shares of the company's stock for $200,000 at an average price of $25.00 per share, significantly increasing his ownership.
• The stock price of WesBanco rose by 3.8%, reaching $32.32, with trading volume surpassing its average.
• WesBanco announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $1.48 and a yield of 4.6%.

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) Director F Eric Nelson, Jr. acquired 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $200,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

WesBanco Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:WSBC traded down $0.05 on Friday, reaching $32.27. The stock had a trading volume of 2,872,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 517,486. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.65 and a 200 day moving average of $31.05. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.44 and a beta of 0.85. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.42 and a 12-month 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, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $261.14 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WSBC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $291,427,000 after acquiring an additional 2,702,469 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings 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 worth $179,358,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730,801 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings 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 worth $40,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159,158 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 991,584 shares during the period. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WesBanco in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,869,000. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.83.

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.