WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $42.50 and last traded at $42.8350, with a volume of 1689 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $42.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WSBC. Piper Sandler upped their price target on WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of WesBanco from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock 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 report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WesBanco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.20.

WesBanco Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 0.67. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.37.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $275.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.71 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 23.35%. Research analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is 44.19%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert H. Friend sold 2,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.06, for a total transaction of $84,120.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,361 shares in the company, valued at $730,203.66. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kimberly L. Griffith sold 6,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total transaction of $283,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,858 shares in the company, valued at $653,349.60. This trade represents a 30.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 36,625 shares of company stock valued at $1,505,462. 2.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WSBC. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 52.2% in the 1st 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 during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in 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 last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised 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 during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised 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 during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position 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 last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.