WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Receives $39.17 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four 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 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.1667.

A number of research firms have commented on WSBC. DA Davidson downgraded shares of WesBanco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded WesBanco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on WesBanco from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WesBanco news, Director F Eric Nelson, Jr. bought 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $200,000. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Todd Clossin bought 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 52,921 shares of company stock worth $1,339,995. 2.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WSBC. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 622.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,744 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco in the 3rd quarter valued at $322,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in WesBanco in the 3rd quarter worth about $70,000. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in WesBanco during the 3rd quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its stake in WesBanco by 17.3% during the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 137,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,399,000 after buying an additional 20,355 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $32.73 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.94. WesBanco has a 1 year low of $26.42 and a 1 year high of $37.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.57 and a 200-day moving average of $31.58.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $261.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $263.38 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 13.91% and a return on equity of 8.55%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that WesBanco will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.55%.

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.