Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Buys 668 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 17,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in WesBanco by 43.3% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 10,375 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 8.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 163,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,887,000 after buying an additional 12,392 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the first quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Smithfield Trust Co increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 0.9% during the first quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 49,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in WesBanco by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 209,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,231,000 after acquiring an additional 3,425 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WesBanco Trading Up 13.8 %

WesBanco stock opened at $36.01 on Thursday. WesBanco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $24.55 and a 52-week high of $36.13. The company has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.50.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its 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. WesBanco had a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 5.75%. The company had revenue of $243.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. Analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued 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 4.00%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on WSBC. DA Davidson lifted their target price on WesBanco from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a report on Monday, September 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.17.

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.