Aristotle Capital Boston LLC Makes New $11.28 Million Investment in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Aristotle Capital Boston LLC bought a new position in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 339,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,279,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bayview Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 0.4% during 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 1.6% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 24,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 55.4% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSBC has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of WesBanco from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.50.

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In other news, Director Joseph R. Robinson bought 1,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $34.54 per share, with a total value of $34,540.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,068 shares in the company, valued at $658,608.72. The trade was a 5.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Louis Michael Altman bought 3,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.72 per share, for a total transaction of $101,160.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 33,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,118,290.08. This represents a 9.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought a total of 7,000 shares of company stock valued at $236,500 over the last 90 days. 2.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WesBanco Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $35.39 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.68. WesBanco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.18 and a fifty-two week high of $38.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $257.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $264.52 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.03%.

WesBanco announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that permits the company to repurchase 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically 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.