WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.1667.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WSBC. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson lowered shares of WesBanco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WesBanco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph R. Robinson bought 8,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $200,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $200,000. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Cornelsen acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 52,921 shares of company stock worth $1,339,995 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of WesBanco by 58.8% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 185,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,758,000 after acquiring an additional 68,832 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 258.9% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 39,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 28,302 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 258,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,009,000 after purchasing an additional 17,172 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in WesBanco by 44.9% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 64,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 19,836 shares during the period. Finally, Keybank National Association OH bought a new stake in WesBanco in the first quarter worth $2,108,000. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WesBanco Price Performance

WesBanco stock opened at $30.33 on Friday. WesBanco has a 12 month low of $26.42 and a 12 month high of $37.36. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.44. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. WesBanco had a return on equity of 8.55% and a net margin of 13.91%.The business had revenue of $261.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.38 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that WesBanco will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is 75.51%.

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.