WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. DA Davidson set a $46.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.20.

WesBanco Stock Down 0.0%

WSBC opened at $40.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.70. WesBanco has a 12 month low of $29.57 and a 12 month high of $43.02.

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

WesBanco declared that its board has approved a stock 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be given 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 of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is 44.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WesBanco

In other WesBanco news, EVP Jayson M. Zatta sold 12,500 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.80, for a total transaction of $522,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 81,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,389,227.60. The trade was a 13.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert H. Friend sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.06, for a total transaction of $252,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,203.66. This represents a 25.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,625 shares of company stock worth $1,505,462. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 52.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 59,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 20,585 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of WesBanco by 56.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,582,000 after buying an additional 18,347 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 1,553.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 179.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,543,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,779,000 after buying an additional 991,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 60.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 216,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,704,000 after buying an additional 81,319 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.