WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Receives $40.25 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.25.

WSBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research raised WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In other news, Director Louis Michael Altman acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $33.72 per share, for a total transaction of $101,160.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 33,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,290.08. This represents a 9.95% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lee J. Burdman bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $33.60 per share, with a total value of $100,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 46,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,571,539.20. This represents a 6.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 7,000 shares of company stock worth $236,500. 2.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in WesBanco by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,819,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $326,399,000 after buying an additional 224,107 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,451,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,013,000 after acquiring an additional 59,077 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,663,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,109,000 after acquiring an additional 14,147 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of WesBanco by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,764,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,883,000 after acquiring an additional 332,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of WesBanco by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,356,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,325,000 after acquiring an additional 15,673 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WesBanco Price Performance

NASDAQ WSBC opened at $39.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.31. WesBanco has a 52-week low of $29.18 and a 52-week high of $40.33.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $257.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.52 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that WesBanco will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. WesBanco’s payout ratio is currently 49.03%.

WesBanco announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that permits the company to buyback 4,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About WesBanco

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.