WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Key Points

• Zacks downgraded WesBanco (WSBC) from a "hold" to a "strong sell," signaling a negative view from that research house.
• Analyst opinions remain mixed—MarketBeat shows a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $39.60, and several firms still maintain "buy"/"strong-buy" ratings with $40–$42 targets.
• In the latest quarter WesBanco reported $0.91 EPS (above the $0.86 consensus) but revenue of $257.23M missed estimates and was down 3.1% year‑over‑year.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

WSBC has been the topic of several other research reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of WesBanco from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of WesBanco from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, WesBanco has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $39.60.

WesBanco Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $33.94 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $34.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.74. WesBanco has a one year low of $28.74 and a one year high of $38.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $257.23 million for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WesBanco will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at WesBanco

In other news, Director Joseph R. Robinson acquired 1,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $34.54 per share, for a total transaction of $34,540.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 19,068 shares in the company, valued at $658,608.72. This trade represents a 5.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lee J. Burdman acquired 3,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $33.60 per share, with a total value of $100,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 46,772 shares in the company, valued at $1,571,539.20. This represents a 6.85% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 7,940 shares of company stock worth $267,299. 2.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,819,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $326,399,000 after acquiring an additional 224,107 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 0.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,663,315 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $117,109,000 after acquiring an additional 14,147 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,764,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $91,883,000 after acquiring an additional 332,585 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,356,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,325,000 after acquiring an additional 15,673 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 1,872,132 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,230,000 after acquiring an additional 21,621 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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