WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Receives $38.67 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.17.

Several research firms have issued reports on WSBC. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James upgraded shares of 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, December 6th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In related news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,632,508.79. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of WesBanco during the 3rd quarter valued at $116,114,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,934,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,313,000 after purchasing an additional 35,030 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,419,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,268,000 after purchasing an additional 32,879 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 695,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,712,000 after purchasing an additional 142,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 500,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,917,000 after purchasing an additional 11,987 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of WSBC stock opened at $35.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.69 and its 200 day moving average is $32.27. WesBanco has a 12 month low of $25.56 and a 12 month high of $37.36.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that WesBanco will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.37 dividend. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.07%.

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.