WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 1,508,927 shares were traded during mid-day 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research lowered shares of WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.50.

WesBanco Stock Up 2.8%

The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.45.

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

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

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

WesBanco declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 20th that permits the company to buyback 4,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSBC. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in WesBanco by 12,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in WesBanco by 255.1% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in WesBanco during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in WesBanco by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp increased its holdings in WesBanco by 55.4% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during 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.