Brokerages Set WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) PT at $34.71

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.71.

WSBC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on WesBanco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, September 9th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of WesBanco from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on shares of WesBanco from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 5,363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.19, for a total transaction of $161,908.97. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at $1,413,405.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in WesBanco by 105.3% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 33,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,038,000 after buying an additional 17,345 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 811,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,450,000 after purchasing an additional 48,304 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in WesBanco during the first quarter worth about $3,555,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in WesBanco by 4.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 490,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,685,000 after purchasing an additional 21,297 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in WesBanco in the 1st quarter valued at about $212,000. 61.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WesBanco Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of WesBanco stock opened at $30.28 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 0.83. WesBanco has a 12-month low of $23.00 and a 12-month high of $34.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.04). WesBanco had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 5.90%. The firm had revenue of $234.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. Analysts predict that WesBanco will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.76%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.00%.

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.