Empowered Funds LLC Cuts Position in WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 260,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 45,504 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $8,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in WesBanco by 6.0% in the second quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 55,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 3,137 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 57,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,826,000 after buying an additional 6,770 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 53,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,688,000 after buying an additional 3,689 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of WesBanco by 200.3% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 9,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its stake in shares of WesBanco by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 21,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WSBC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of WesBanco from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded WesBanco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded WesBanco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.17.

WesBanco Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ WSBC opened at $30.42 on Thursday. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.42 and a 12-month high of $37.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.89.

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

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.51%.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In other news, Director James W. Cornelsen bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $250,000. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO K Weiss Daniel bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $100,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 52,921 shares of company stock valued at $1,339,995. 2.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.