Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 1,300 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 13.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $331,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP raised its stake in WesBanco by 215.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 214.5% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in WesBanco in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in WesBanco in the 2nd quarter worth about $91,000. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its position in WesBanco by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSBC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of WesBanco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Stephens increased their target price on WesBanco from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on WesBanco from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.71.

WesBanco Stock Up 1.3 %

WesBanco stock opened at $30.51 on Tuesday. WesBanco, Inc. has a one year low of $23.00 and a one year high of $34.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $30.44 and a 200 day moving average of $29.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.32 and a beta of 0.82.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $234.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.40 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 5.90% and a net margin of 15.22%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.06 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.72%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WesBanco news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 5,363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 46,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,413,405.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.