WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.20.

WesBanco Trading Down 0.3%

WSBC stock opened at $40.73 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.74. WesBanco has a one year low of $29.57 and a one year high of $43.02. The stock has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.67.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $275.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $267.71 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 23.35% and a return on equity of 9.72%. Equities analysts anticipate that WesBanco will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is presently 44.19%.

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In other WesBanco news, EVP Jan Pattishall-Krupinski sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.45, for a total value of $93,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,395,787.30. This represents a 6.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Robert H. Friend sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were 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 owned 17,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,203.66. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 39,695 shares of company stock worth $1,630,995 over the last 90 days. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in WesBanco by 3,993.7% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,278,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,984,000 after buying an additional 4,173,842 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in WesBanco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $351,000. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in WesBanco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new position in WesBanco in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in WesBanco by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 212,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,277,000 after acquiring an additional 14,268 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% 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.