Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSBC. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 12,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in WesBanco by 3.9% in the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 17,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in WesBanco by 3.9% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 17,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its position in WesBanco by 215.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 214.5% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WSBC. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Stephens raised their price objective on WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.17.

WesBanco Stock Performance

WesBanco stock opened at $35.52 on Friday. WesBanco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.56 and a twelve month high of $37.36. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $32.55 and its 200 day moving average is $30.58.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. WesBanco had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.79%. The firm had revenue of $243.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WesBanco news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $39,228.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,632,508.79. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Company Profile

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.