Clearstead Advisors LLC Trims Stake in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Clearstead Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 65.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,266 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also 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 valued at $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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in WesBanco by 71.9% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of WesBanco from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. 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 issued a $41.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Zacks Research cut WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.50.

WesBanco Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $34.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.18 and a 12-month high of $38.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.69.

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

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

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

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

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In related news, Director Joseph R. Robinson bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $34.54 per share, with a total value of $34,540.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 19,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $658,608.72. The trade was a 5.53% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lee J. Burdman bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $33.60 per share, with a total value of $100,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 46,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,571,539.20. This represents a 6.85% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 7,940 shares of company stock valued at $267,299. Corporate insiders own 2.07% 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.