WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Director Sells $125,532.30 in Stock

Key Points

• Director Denise Knouse-Snyder sold 3,070 WesBanco shares for approximately $125,532, reducing her direct ownership by 16.96% to 15,035 shares.
• WesBanco recently reported quarterly EPS of $0.92, exceeding estimates of $0.85, while revenue of $275.79 million also topped expectations.
• The company authorized a 4-million-share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, representing a 3.7% annualized yield; analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average $43.20 price target.

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) Director Denise Knouse-Snyder sold 3,070 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.89, for a total transaction of $125,532.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,035 shares of the company's stock, valued at $614,781.15. This represents a 16.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

WesBanco Price Performance

NASDAQ WSBC traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $40.91. 183,791 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 856,320. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.71. WesBanco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.57 and a 1 year high of $43.02. The company has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 0.67.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $275.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $267.71 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 23.35%. On average, analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in WesBanco by 12,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in WesBanco in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in WesBanco in the second quarter worth $40,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in WesBanco by 71.9% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its position in WesBanco by 54.5% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WSBC. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $46.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on WesBanco from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WesBanco presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.20.

WesBanco Company Profile

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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