Brokerages Set WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) PT at $43.20

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.20.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WSBC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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. DA Davidson set a $46.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, 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.

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In related news, 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 transaction, the director directly owned 15,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $614,781.15. This trade represents a 16.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kimberly L. Griffith sold 6,875 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $283,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,858 shares in the company, valued at $653,349.60. The trade was a 30.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 39,695 shares of company stock worth $1,630,995. 2.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSBC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in WesBanco by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,819,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,399,000 after purchasing an additional 224,107 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in WesBanco by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,570,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,196,000 after buying an additional 81,974 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in WesBanco during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,914,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in WesBanco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,492,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in WesBanco by 65.0% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 240,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,306,000 after buying an additional 94,863 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WesBanco Stock Down 1.0%

WSBC stock opened at $40.01 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 0.67. WesBanco has a one year low of $29.57 and a one year high of $43.02.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.07. WesBanco had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 23.35%.The company had revenue of $275.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.71 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WesBanco will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.19%.

WesBanco declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership 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.