Fourthstone LLC Invests $494,000 in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Fourthstone LLC purchased a new position in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSBC. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in WesBanco by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 257.0% during the first quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 7,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 5,416 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its stake in WesBanco by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 19,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,156 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in WesBanco during the second quarter valued at $402,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in WesBanco by 64.0% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 4,760 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.17.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of WSBC traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $35.45. 326,886 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 381,631. The company has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96 and a beta of 0.81. WesBanco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.56 and a twelve month high of $37.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.31.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. WesBanco had a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 5.75%. The firm had revenue of $243.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. WesBanco’s payout ratio is 68.90%.

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In related news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total value of $39,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,632,508.79. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.