Jayson Zatta Sells 12,500 Shares of WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Stock

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) EVP Jayson Zatta sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.80, for a total transaction of $522,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 81,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,389,227.60. The trade was a 13.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

WesBanco Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of WesBanco stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $41.57. 759,835 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 871,794. WesBanco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.18 and a twelve month high of $42.21. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.67. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.85.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $275.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $267.71 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 23.35%. Equities research analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.19%.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bayview Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in WesBanco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Bayview Asset Management LLC now owns 80,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,669,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 3.4% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 10,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 50,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,677,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $46.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.20.

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.