Short Interest in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Expands By 106.7%

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,790,000 shares, a growth of 106.7% from the September 15th total of 1,350,000 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 584,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days. Based on an average trading volume of 584,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of WesBanco from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson cut WesBanco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut WesBanco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WesBanco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.17.

WesBanco Stock Down 0.3%

WSBC stock opened at $31.32 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.93. WesBanco has a fifty-two week low of $26.42 and a fifty-two week high of $37.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $32.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.21.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $260.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $261.14 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 11.65%.During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WesBanco will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is currently 89.16%.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In other WesBanco news, CEO Jeffrey H. Jackson purchased 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $100,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,000. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph R. Robinson acquired 8,000 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were purchased 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 directly owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000. This represents a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 49,600 shares of company stock valued at $1,240,000 over the last ninety days. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 40.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,413,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,427,000 after buying an additional 2,702,469 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in WesBanco by 42.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,793,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $179,358,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730,801 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,663,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,109,000 after purchasing an additional 14,147 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 35.2% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,456,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,052,000 after purchasing an additional 640,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in WesBanco by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,389,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,588,000 after acquiring an additional 172,276 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

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.