WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC Holdings Lifted by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 36.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 668,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 179,997 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $23,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSBC. Bayview Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of WesBanco by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Bayview Asset Management LLC now owns 80,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,669,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 41.1% in 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 last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 10,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 50,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in WesBanco by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on WesBanco from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson set a $46.00 price objective on WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.20.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of WSBC opened at $42.01 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.80. The stock has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.67. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $29.18 and a one year high of $42.05.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $275.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.71 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 23.35% and a return on equity of 9.72%. On average, equities research analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

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

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jan Pattishall-Krupinski sold 4,500 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.71, for a total transaction of $165,195.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,318,770.04. The trade was a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kimberly L. Griffith sold 6,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total value of $283,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,858 shares in the company, valued at $653,349.60. This represents a 30.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.07% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.