Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 102,275 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,099,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 102,275 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 6.88% of WesBanco worth $114,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSBC. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of WesBanco in the fourth quarter worth $8,620,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in WesBanco in the first quarter worth $3,555,000. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WesBanco in the second quarter worth $1,416,000. Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in WesBanco in the second quarter worth $687,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in WesBanco by 4.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 490,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,685,000 after acquiring an additional 21,297 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 5,363 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.19, for a total value of $161,908.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,413,405.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSBC has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, September 9th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of WesBanco from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of WesBanco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of WesBanco from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.71.

WesBanco Stock Performance

WesBanco stock opened at $30.28 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.30 and a 200-day moving average of $29.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 0.83. WesBanco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.00 and a 1-year high of $34.85.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $234.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.40 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 5.90% and a net margin of 15.22%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. WesBanco’s payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

About WesBanco

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.