WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.83.

Several brokerages recently commented on WSBC. DA Davidson increased their price target on WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James upgraded shares of WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised WesBanco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $40.00 to $44.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th.

WesBanco Stock Down 0.9 %

WesBanco stock opened at $35.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. WesBanco has a fifty-two week low of $25.56 and a fifty-two week high of $37.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.66 and a beta of 0.84.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.17. WesBanco had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 6.30%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WesBanco will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the third quarter valued at about $56,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in WesBanco by 807.0% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 175.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 61.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.