58,859 Shares in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC Purchased by Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 58,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,297,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 81,974 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco in the fourth quarter valued at $1,492,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of WesBanco by 65.0% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 240,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,306,000 after purchasing an additional 94,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gator Capital Management LLC bought a new position in WesBanco in the fourth quarter worth $1,462,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Price Performance

Shares of WSBC stock opened at $40.44 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $40.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.67. WesBanco, Inc. has a one year low of $29.57 and a one year high of $43.02.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $275.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $267.71 million. On average, analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

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

WesBanco declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to repurchase 4,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WSBC. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price 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. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WesBanco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kimberly L. Griffith sold 6,875 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $653,349.60. The trade was a 30.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Robert H. Friend sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.06, for a total value of $84,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,695 shares of company stock valued at $1,630,995. Corporate insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

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.