Stifel Financial Corp Has $1.24 Million Stock Position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 41.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,190 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $1,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSBC. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in WesBanco by 25.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 695,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,712,000 after buying an additional 142,597 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 500,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,917,000 after acquiring an additional 11,987 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 21,297 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in WesBanco during the third quarter valued at approximately $12,333,000. Finally, F M Investments LLC bought a new stake in WesBanco in the third quarter valued at approximately $7,726,000. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WesBanco

In other WesBanco news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total value 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. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of WSBC stock opened at $33.31 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94 and a beta of 0.84. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.56 and a 12-month high of $37.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.88 and a 200-day moving average of $31.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $243.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.40 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.79%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSBC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 report on Monday, October 28th. 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. Finally, Raymond James raised WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.83.

WesBanco 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.