WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $38.10 and last traded at $37.78, with a volume of 350350 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of WesBanco in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered shares of WesBanco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.00.

WesBanco Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84. The business had revenue of $265.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.53 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 15.51%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WesBanco

In related news, Director F Eric Nelson, Jr. sold 752 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.37, for a total transaction of $25,094.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WSBC. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,356,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,325,000 after acquiring an additional 15,673 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. bought a new stake in WesBanco in the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in WesBanco in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of WesBanco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 79.7% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 45,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,504,000 after buying an additional 20,067 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WesBanco Company Profile

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.