WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $39.32 and last traded at $39.6220, with a volume of 80465 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $39.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.25.

WesBanco Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.99. 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 (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $257.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $264.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is presently 49.03%.

WesBanco declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to buyback 4,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at WesBanco

In other WesBanco news, Director Joseph R. Robinson acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $34.54 per share, with a total value of $34,540.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 19,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $658,608.72. This trade represents a 5.53% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jan Pattishall-Krupinski sold 4,500 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.71, for a total value of $165,195.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,318,770.04. This represents a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 7,000 shares of company stock worth $236,500 over the last ninety days. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in WesBanco by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,819,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,399,000 after purchasing an additional 224,107 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its stake in WesBanco by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,570,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,196,000 after purchasing an additional 81,974 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 162,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,194,000 after purchasing an additional 20,269 shares during the last quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco in the 4th quarter valued at $1,462,000. Finally, Aristotle Capital Boston LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the 4th quarter valued at $11,279,000. 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.