WesBanco’s (WSBC) Sector Perform Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated their sector perform rating on shares of WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $44.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Zacks Research raised WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $46.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.20.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of WSBC stock opened at $39.54 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.94. WesBanco has a 1 year low of $29.57 and a 1 year high of $43.02. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 0.66.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $275.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.71 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 23.35%. Analysts predict that WesBanco will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. WesBanco’s payout ratio is 44.19%.

WesBanco announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 4,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In other news, EVP Jayson M. Zatta sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.80, for a total transaction of $522,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 81,082 shares in the company, valued at $3,389,227.60. This represents a 13.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Denise H. Knouse-Snyder sold 3,070 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.89, for a total value of $125,532.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $614,781.15. This represents a 16.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 39,695 shares of company stock worth $1,630,995 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in WesBanco during the second quarter worth $8,701,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in WesBanco in the second quarter valued at $3,914,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the 2nd quarter worth $10,089,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the 4th quarter worth $1,492,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of WesBanco by 65.0% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 240,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,306,000 after purchasing an additional 94,863 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About WesBanco

WesBanco, Inc (NASDAQ: WSBC) is a financial services holding company headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia. Through its principal subsidiary, WesBanco Bank, the company provides community banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions.

WesBanco’s offerings include checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgages, credit cards, treasury management and other deposit and lending products. The company also provides trust, investment management and brokerage services through its wealth management operations, along with insurance and employee benefit solutions in select markets.

Founded in 1870, WesBanco serves customers through a network of banking offices and financial service locations across West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Indiana.