WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Share Price Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)’s share price passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $38.87 and traded as high as $39.21. WesBanco shares last traded at $38.90, with a volume of 500,767 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WSBC. Wall Street Zen cut WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of WesBanco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $46.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.60.

WesBanco Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $272.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.88 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 23.70%. On average, analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WesBanco

In related news, EVP Robert H. Friend sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.06, for a total value of $84,120.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,361 shares in the company, valued at $730,203.66. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Denise H. Knouse-Snyder sold 3,070 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.89, for a total transaction of $125,532.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,035 shares in the company, valued at $614,781.15. This trade represents a 16.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,070 shares of company stock valued at $462,012. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSBC. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in WesBanco during the 2nd quarter worth $8,701,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco in the second quarter valued at about $84,562,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of WesBanco during the second quarter valued at about $3,914,000. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 26.1% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 127,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,968,000 after purchasing an additional 26,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of WesBanco during the second quarter valued at about $10,089,000. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WesBanco Company Profile

WesBanco, Inc (NASDAQ: WSBC) is a regional financial services holding company headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia. Through its principal subsidiary, WesBanco Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions.

Its offerings include consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, personal and corporate credit services, mortgage banking and other traditional banking products.