WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $42.42 and last traded at $42.31, with a volume of 775400 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on WesBanco from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson set a $46.00 price target on WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.20.

WesBanco Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.07. The firm 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

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

WesBanco announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to repurchase 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In other news, EVP Jayson M. Zatta sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.80, for a total transaction of $522,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 81,082 shares in the company, valued at $3,389,227.60. This trade represents a 13.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kimberly L. Griffith sold 6,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total transaction of $283,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $653,349.60. This trade represents a 30.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,625 shares of company stock valued at $1,168,982. Insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in WesBanco during the second quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco in the 2nd quarter worth $36,433,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in WesBanco in the 2nd quarter worth $210,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in WesBanco in the 2nd quarter worth $2,619,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its position in WesBanco by 0.7% during the first quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 928,768 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,033,000 after purchasing an additional 6,784 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

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.