WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Director Louis Michael Altman Acquires 3,000 Shares

Key Points

• Director Louis Michael Altman purchased 3,000 WesBanco shares at an average price of $33.72 on April 23, raising his holdings 9.95% to 33,164 shares valued at about $1.12 million, as disclosed in an SEC filing.
• WesBanco beat Q1 EPS estimates with $0.91 vs. $0.86 consensus, but revenue fell to $257.23 million (down 3.1% YoY); the quarter showed a 21.12% net margin and a 9.83% return on equity.
• The bank pays a quarterly dividend of $0.38 ($1.52 annual, a 4.5% yield) with a 73.4% payout ratio; the stock trades near $34 with a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E of 10.97, and a consensus analyst target of $39.60.

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) Director Louis Michael Altman purchased 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.72 per share, with a total value of $101,160.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 33,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,118,290.08. This trade represents a 9.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

WesBanco Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of WSBC stock traded down $0.08 on Friday, hitting $34.02. The stock had a trading volume of 480,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 555,673. WesBanco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.74 and a twelve month high of $38.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.85.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $257.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.52 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 9.83%. The firm's revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bayview Asset Management LLC lifted its position in WesBanco by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Bayview Asset Management LLC now owns 80,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,669,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in WesBanco by 41.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in WesBanco by 0.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in WesBanco by 77.9% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 877 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in WesBanco by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 24,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $794,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WSBC shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WesBanco from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of WesBanco from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WesBanco presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $39.60.

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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