WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 1,508,927 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 161% from the previous session’s volume of 578,502 shares.The stock last traded at $35.5220 and had previously closed at $34.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. 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 report on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research cut shares of WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WesBanco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.50.

WesBanco Trading Up 0.5%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. WesBanco had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The company had revenue of $257.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. WesBanco’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

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

WesBanco declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to buyback 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In other WesBanco news, Director Lee J. Burdman purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $33.60 per share, with a total value of $100,800.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 46,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,571,539.20. The trade was a 6.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Louis Michael Altman bought 3,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $33.72 per share, for a total transaction of $101,160.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 33,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,118,290.08. This trade represents a 9.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 7,940 shares of company stock worth $267,299. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in WesBanco by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,819,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,399,000 after acquiring an additional 224,107 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 1.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,451,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,013,000 after purchasing an additional 59,077 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in WesBanco by 0.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,663,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $117,109,000 after purchasing an additional 14,147 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in WesBanco by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,764,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,883,000 after purchasing an additional 332,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in WesBanco by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,356,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,325,000 after purchasing an additional 15,673 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.