Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 15,673 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,356,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,673 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $78,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 12,500.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in WesBanco by 255.1% in the 3rd 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in WesBanco by 41.1% in the 4th 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 period. First Horizon Corp increased its holdings in WesBanco by 55.4% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in WesBanco by 71.9% in the 2nd 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 period. 61.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In other news, Director Joseph R. Robinson bought 1,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $34.54 per share, for a total transaction of $34,540.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 19,068 shares in the company, valued at $658,608.72. The trade was a 5.53% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lee J. Burdman bought 3,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $33.60 per share, with a total value of $100,800.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 46,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,571,539.20. This represents a 6.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 7,940 shares of company stock worth $267,299 in the last quarter. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WSBC. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of WesBanco from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. 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, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WesBanco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

WesBanco Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $34.39 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.56 and a 200-day moving average of $34.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. WesBanco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.18 and a twelve month high of $38.10.

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

WesBanco announced that its board has approved a stock buyback 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

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

About WesBanco

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.