Insider Buying: WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Director Acquires 10,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• WesBanco Director James Cornelsen purchased 10,000 shares at an average price of $25.00 each, totaling $250,000, which significantly increased his ownership stake in the company.
• The company's stock price rose 1.9% to $31.73, with a market cap of $3.05 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12.
• WesBanco declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, representing a yearly yield of 4.7%, which will be paid on October 1st.

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) Director James W. Cornelsen acquired 10,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $250,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

WesBanco Price Performance

Shares of WesBanco stock traded down $0.43 during trading on Monday, hitting $31.84. 255,396 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 592,240. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15 and a beta of 0.85. WesBanco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.42 and a 52 week high of $37.36. The firm's fifty day moving average is $31.65 and its 200-day moving average is $31.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. WesBanco had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 11.65%.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 business posted $0.49 EPS. Research 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 $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in WesBanco in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of WesBanco during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 132.5% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 895 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of WesBanco during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV bought a new position in WesBanco in the first quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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