WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Now Covered by Piper Sandler

Analysts at Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $42.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target indicates a potential upside of 20.00% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson downgraded shares of WesBanco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of WesBanco from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WesBanco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.00.

WesBanco Price Performance

WSBC opened at $35.00 on Wednesday. WesBanco has a twelve month low of $26.42 and a twelve month high of $37.18. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.86 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.81.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted 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 company had revenue of $261.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $263.38 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 13.91% and a return on equity of 8.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that WesBanco will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In other WesBanco news, Director Zahid Afzal purchased 3,321 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.11 per share, for a total transaction of $99,995.31. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $398,144.53. The trade was a 33.54% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director F Eric Nelson, Jr. sold 752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.37, for a total value of $25,094.24. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 0.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,663,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,109,000 after buying an additional 14,147 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,456,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,052,000 after purchasing an additional 640,003 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in WesBanco by 7.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,389,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,588,000 after purchasing an additional 172,276 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in WesBanco by 4.6% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,859,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,568,000 after buying an additional 82,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,565,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,528,000 after acquiring an additional 136,975 shares during the last quarter. 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.