WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.83.

Several research firms have commented on WSBC. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $40.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James upgraded shares of WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

WesBanco Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of WSBC stock opened at $31.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.96. WesBanco has a 1 year low of $25.56 and a 1 year high of $37.36.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.17. WesBanco had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 6.30%. As a group, equities analysts predict that WesBanco will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.07%.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in WesBanco in the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in WesBanco by 807.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,614 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in WesBanco by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new position in WesBanco in the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in WesBanco by 668.5% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 2,146 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.