WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $42.21 and last traded at $41.90, with a volume of 941807 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WSBC. Weiss Ratings raised WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on WesBanco from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $46.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research note 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 issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WesBanco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.20.

WesBanco Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $37.66 and its 200-day moving average is $35.85. The stock has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $275.79 million during 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%. Analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is currently 44.19%.

WesBanco declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to repurchase 4,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other WesBanco news, EVP Jan Pattishall-Krupinski sold 4,500 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.71, for a total value of $165,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 35,924 shares in the company, valued at $1,318,770.04. The trade was a 11.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kimberly L. Griffith sold 6,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total transaction of $283,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $653,349.60. This represents a 30.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 16,125 shares of company stock worth $646,482 over the last quarter. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,819,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,399,000 after buying an additional 224,107 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,570,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,196,000 after purchasing an additional 81,974 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the 4th quarter worth about $1,492,000. Gator Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the 4th quarter worth about $1,462,000. Finally, Aristotle Capital Boston LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the 4th quarter worth about $11,279,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

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.