Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 146,557 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 51,970.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 146,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 146,557 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $4,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in WesBanco by 25.8% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 1,812 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in WesBanco during the first quarter valued at approximately $22,282,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in WesBanco by 0.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 832,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,780,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its position in WesBanco by 58.8% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 185,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,758,000 after purchasing an additional 68,832 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in WesBanco by 45.3% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 70,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 22,044 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WSBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on WesBanco from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on WesBanco from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.83.

WesBanco Stock Up 5.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $32.83 on Friday. WesBanco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $26.42 and a 52-week high of $37.36. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.54 and its 200 day moving average is $31.55. 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 (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $260.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $261.14 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 11.65%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.16%.

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.