WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.60.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WSBC. Piper Sandler started coverage on WesBanco in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of WesBanco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of WesBanco by 12,500.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 255.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in WesBanco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in WesBanco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in WesBanco by 77.9% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of WSBC stock opened at $34.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76 and a beta of 0.74. WesBanco has a 1 year low of $26.42 and a 1 year high of $38.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84. WesBanco had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The company had revenue of $265.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $265.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that WesBanco will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.43%.

About WesBanco

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.