Brokerages Set WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Price Target at $36.17

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research 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 twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.83.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WSBC shares. Raymond James raised WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th.

WesBanco Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ WSBC opened at $35.44 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. WesBanco has a twelve month low of $25.56 and a twelve month high of $37.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $32.93 and its 200-day moving average is $30.75. The stock has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96 and a beta of 0.84.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. WesBanco had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.79%. The firm had revenue of $243.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that WesBanco will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is 70.81%.

Insider Activity

In other WesBanco news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $39,228.75. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSBC. Comerica Bank raised its stake in WesBanco by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of WesBanco during the second quarter worth approximately $402,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in WesBanco by 64.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 4,760 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its stake in WesBanco by 31.7% in the 2nd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 14,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in WesBanco by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 17,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Company Profile

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.