Insider Buying: WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Director Buys 2,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• John Bookmyer, a director of WesBanco, bought 2,000 shares at $25.00 per share, totaling $50,000, increasing his ownership of the stock.
• WesBanco reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.91, exceeding analyst estimates by $0.04, with a market cap of $3.05 billion.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37, representing an annualized dividend of $1.48 with a yield of 4.7%, set to be paid on October 1st.

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) Director John Bookmyer acquired 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $50,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WSBC traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $31.84. The stock had a trading volume of 255,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 592,240. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.65 and a 200-day moving average of $31.05. The firm has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. WesBanco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.42 and a fifty-two week 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $261.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company 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 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 89.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,730,801 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in WesBanco by 0.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,663,315 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $117,109,000 after acquiring an additional 14,147 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in WesBanco by 35.2% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,456,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $76,052,000 after acquiring an additional 640,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in WesBanco by 7.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,389,477 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $75,588,000 after acquiring an additional 172,276 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company's stock.

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.