Fifth Third Bancorp Lowers Position in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Fifth Third Bancorp cut its stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,071 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSBC. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of WesBanco by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 135,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 16,354 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $248,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 8,441.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 19,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after acquiring an additional 18,909 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 41.7% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 133,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,141,000 after acquiring an additional 39,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 131.9% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $839,000 after acquiring an additional 15,417 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregory S. Proctor, Jr. bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $50,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,000. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph R. Robinson bought 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 49,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,240,000. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $32.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.09. WesBanco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.42 and a 1 year high of $37.36. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28 and a beta of 0.85.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. WesBanco had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 11.65%.The business had revenue of $260.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $261.14 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded WesBanco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.