Jayson Zatta Sells 12,500 Shares of WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Stock

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) EVP Jayson Zatta sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.80, for a total value of $522,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 81,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,389,227.60. This trade represents a 13.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

WesBanco Stock Performance

WSBC opened at $41.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $37.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.94. WesBanco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.18 and a 1 year high of $42.21. 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 (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $275.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $267.71 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 9.72% and a net margin of 23.35%. Equities analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

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 $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is presently 44.19%.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Covestor Ltd grew its stake 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 buying an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WesBanco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp lifted its holdings in WesBanco by 55.4% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in WesBanco by 71.9% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WSBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WesBanco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.20.

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.