Boston Partners Increases Stock Holdings in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Boston Partners boosted its stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 100.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 109,517 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,917 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned 0.11% of WesBanco worth $3,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in WesBanco during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 132.5% during the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in WesBanco by 573.1% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in WesBanco by 34.9% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of WSBC opened at $32.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.42 and a 12-month high of $37.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $31.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.46 and a beta of 0.89.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. WesBanco had a net margin of 13.91% and a return on equity of 8.55%. The company had revenue of $261.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This is a boost from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. WesBanco’s payout ratio is currently 77.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WSBC. Wall Street Zen lowered WesBanco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on WesBanco from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. DA Davidson downgraded WesBanco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, November 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WesBanco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WesBanco news, Director James W. Cornelsen acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $250,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Todd Clossin bought 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $200,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $200,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought a total of 52,921 shares of company stock valued at $1,339,995 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

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.