WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Receives “Sector Perform” Rating from Royal Bank Of Canada

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating restated by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $44.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.52% from the stock’s current price.

WSBC has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $46.00 price target on WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WesBanco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.20.

WesBanco Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of WesBanco stock traded up $0.37 on Monday, hitting $40.55. 62,876 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 858,315. WesBanco has a one year low of $29.57 and a one year high of $43.02. 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 of $40.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.09. The company has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 0.66.

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

WesBanco declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 20th that authorizes the company to buyback 4,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In other news, EVP Jayson M. Zatta sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.80, for a total transaction of $522,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 81,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,389,227.60. This represents a 13.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kimberly L. Griffith sold 6,875 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.20, for a total transaction of $283,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $653,349.60. This represents a 30.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 39,695 shares of company stock worth $1,630,995 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSBC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco in the second quarter worth about $363,992,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in WesBanco by 3,993.7% during the second 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 acquiring an additional 4,173,842 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in WesBanco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $84,562,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in WesBanco by 179.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,543,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,779,000 after acquiring an additional 991,584 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in WesBanco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,433,000. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WesBanco Company Profile

WesBanco, Inc (NASDAQ: WSBC) is a financial services holding company headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia. Through its principal subsidiary, WesBanco Bank, the company provides community banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions.

WesBanco’s offerings include checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgages, credit cards, treasury management and other deposit and lending products. The company also provides trust, investment management and brokerage services through its wealth management operations, along with insurance and employee benefit solutions in select markets.

Founded in 1870, WesBanco serves customers through a network of banking offices and financial service locations across West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Indiana.