WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.60.

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Raymond James raised shares of WesBanco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Hovde Group reduced their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th.

WesBanco Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $27.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25 and a beta of 0.86. WesBanco has a 12 month low of $19.84 and a 12 month high of $32.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $28.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.31.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.56. The business had revenue of $225.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $147.81 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 6.54% and a net margin of 17.52%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that WesBanco will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.33%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is 60.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of WesBanco by 3,621.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 510,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,471,000 after acquiring an additional 496,958 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in WesBanco during the 4th quarter valued at $8,620,000. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,484,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,258,000 after buying an additional 140,870 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of WesBanco by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 235,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,746,000 after buying an additional 117,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of WesBanco by 16.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 762,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,632,000 after buying an additional 106,300 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.