Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 40.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,413,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,702,469 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 14.06% of WesBanco worth $291,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in WesBanco in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WesBanco in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new position in WesBanco in the 1st quarter worth about $48,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in WesBanco by 807.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 1,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in WesBanco in the 4th quarter worth about $89,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Price Performance

NASDAQ WSBC opened at $30.67 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. WesBanco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.42 and a 52 week high of $37.36.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $260.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $261.14 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 11.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WSBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on WesBanco from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of WesBanco from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.83.

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.