WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Director Acquires $200,000.00 in Stock

Key Points

• WesBanco Director Todd Clossin purchased $200,000 worth of stock by acquiring 8,000 shares at an average price of $25.00 per share.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, representing a 4.7% dividend yield, scheduled for payment on October 1st.
• After recent upgrades, analysts have rated WesBanco with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $38.83.

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) Director Todd Clossin acquired 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $200,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

WesBanco Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WSBC traded down $0.05 on Friday, reaching $32.27. 2,872,996 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 401,270. WesBanco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.42 and a fifty-two week high of $37.36. The company's 50 day moving average is $31.65 and its 200-day moving average is $31.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $260.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $261.14 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 11.65%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 58.8% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 185,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,758,000 after acquiring an additional 68,832 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in WesBanco by 258.9% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 39,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,215,000 after buying an additional 28,302 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in WesBanco by 7.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 258,682 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,009,000 after buying an additional 17,172 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in WesBanco by 44.9% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 64,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,982,000 after buying an additional 19,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH bought a new position in WesBanco during the first quarter valued at about $2,108,000. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded WesBanco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.