Stephens Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Stock

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) had its target price raised by Stephens from $33.00 to $34.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

WSBC has been the topic of several other research reports. Hovde Group upped their price target on WesBanco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on WesBanco from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WesBanco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.17.

WesBanco Price Performance

NASDAQ WSBC opened at $31.45 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05 and a beta of 0.82. WesBanco has a 1 year low of $24.06 and a 1 year high of $34.85. The business’s fifty day moving average is $30.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $243.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.40 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 5.91% and a net margin of 14.79%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that WesBanco will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.58%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.90%.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In other news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 5,363 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.19, for a total transaction of $161,908.97. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at $1,413,405.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake 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 worth $14,917,000 after purchasing an additional 11,987 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of WesBanco by 4.5% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco during the 3rd quarter worth $7,726,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of WesBanco by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 227,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,348,000 after purchasing an additional 6,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of WesBanco by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 209,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,231,000 after purchasing an additional 3,425 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.