WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC Shares Sold by Huntington National Bank

Huntington National Bank reduced its stake in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 68.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,483 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd grew its position in WesBanco by 12,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in WesBanco by 255.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in WesBanco by 41.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp grew its position in WesBanco by 55.4% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in WesBanco by 71.9% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. 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. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on WesBanco from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.50.

WesBanco Stock Performance

WSBC opened at $34.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.33. WesBanco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.18 and a 1-year high of $38.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.68.

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

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.03%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WesBanco news, Director Joseph R. Robinson bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $34.54 per share, with a total value of $34,540.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 19,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $658,608.72. This trade represents a 5.53% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Louis Michael Altman bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $33.72 per share, for a total transaction of $101,160.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 33,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,118,290.08. This represents a 9.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired 7,940 shares of company stock valued at $267,299 in the last ninety days. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WesBanco 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.