WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 6,231,038 shares, an increase of 75.7% from the June 15th total of 3,546,347 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,259,842 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 6.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WSBC. Weiss Ratings upgraded WesBanco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded WesBanco from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on WesBanco from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.25.

WesBanco Price Performance

WesBanco stock opened at $40.80 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.44. The stock has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16 and a beta of 0.67. WesBanco has a 12-month low of $29.18 and a 12-month high of $41.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $257.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.52 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 21.12%.The company’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that WesBanco will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is currently 49.03%.

WesBanco announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 20th that allows the company to buyback 4,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph R. Robinson acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $34.54 per share, with a total value of $34,540.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 19,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $658,608.72. This represents a 5.53% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lee J. Burdman acquired 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $33.60 per share, with a total value of $100,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 46,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,571,539.20. This represents a 6.85% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired a total of 7,000 shares of company stock worth $236,500 in the last quarter. 2.07% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in WesBanco by 52.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 59,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,858,000 after acquiring an additional 20,585 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 56.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 51,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,582,000 after acquiring an additional 18,347 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 1,553.3% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 179.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,543,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,779,000 after purchasing an additional 991,584 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 60.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 216,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,704,000 after purchasing an additional 81,319 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About WesBanco

WesBanco, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia, offering a full range of community banking services through its principal subsidiary, WesBanco Bank, Inc The company serves individual consumers, small‐ to mid‐sized businesses, nonprofit organizations and governmental entities with a relationship‐driven approach and an emphasis on local decision‐making. Through its diversified platform, WesBanco provides core banking functions such as deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage banking, treasury management and electronic banking services.

In addition to traditional banking products, WesBanco offers specialized services including trust and wealth management, investment advisory and insurance solutions.