The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases Shares of 48,580 WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 48,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,896,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WSBC. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of WesBanco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $363,992,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in WesBanco by 179.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,543,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,779,000 after buying an additional 991,584 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in WesBanco in the second quarter worth approximately $36,433,000. FJ Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in WesBanco by 771.4% in the third quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 654,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,892,000 after buying an additional 579,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aristotle Capital Boston LLC bought a new position in WesBanco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,279,000. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WesBanco Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of WSBC opened at $41.31 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 0.66. WesBanco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.57 and a twelve month high of $43.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.92.

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

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

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

WesBanco declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on WSBC shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson set a $46.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at WesBanco

In other news, EVP Jan Pattishall-Krupinski sold 4,500 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.71, for a total value of $165,195.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,318,770.04. This trade represents a 11.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert H. Friend sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.06, for a total value of $252,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,361 shares in the company, valued at $730,203.66. This trade represents a 25.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 39,695 shares of company stock worth $1,630,995 over the last three months. 2.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WesBanco 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.