Principal Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 36,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of WesBanco as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco during the fourth quarter worth $328,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in WesBanco during the 4th quarter worth about $5,345,000. Swiss National Bank grew its position in WesBanco by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 117,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in WesBanco by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in WesBanco by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 136,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,442,000 after purchasing an additional 14,777 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Price Performance

WSBC opened at $32.85 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $31.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.85. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.42 and a 12-month high of $37.36. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $253.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $206.63 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 6.07%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WSBC shares. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of WesBanco from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of WesBanco from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of WesBanco from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.71.

WesBanco Company 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.