WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Shares Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 185,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,380 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.28% of WesBanco worth $5,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco in the first quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in WesBanco by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 209,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,231,000 after buying an additional 3,425 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in WesBanco by 105.3% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 33,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after buying an additional 17,345 shares during the period. Comerica Bank raised its position in WesBanco by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 257.0% in the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 7,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 5,416 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSBC. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson raised their price target on WesBanco from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Hovde Group lifted their price target on WesBanco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.17.

WesBanco Price Performance

WSBC stock opened at $35.64 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.22 and a 200-day moving average of $29.95. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.56 and a 12-month high of $36.87.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $243.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.40 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.79%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $39,228.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,632,508.79. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Profile

WesBanco, Inc operates as the bank holding company for WesBanco Bank, Inc that provides retail banking, corporate banking, personal and corporate trust, brokerage, mortgage banking, and insurance services to individuals and businesses in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Community Banking, and Trust and Investment Services.