Stephens began coverage on shares of WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) in a research note published on Monday morning, The Fly reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $41.50 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.
A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WSBC. ValuEngine raised WesBanco from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BidaskClub cut WesBanco from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, December 27th. B. Riley set a $40.00 price objective on WesBanco and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research raised WesBanco from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $41.38.
Shares of NASDAQ WSBC traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $36.49. 133,795 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 187,488. The firm has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.80. WesBanco has a 12 month low of $33.19 and a 12 month high of $43.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.
WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $117.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $126.48 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 28.22% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that WesBanco will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is 38.63%.
In related news, CEO Todd Clossin purchased 7,500 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $36.46 per share, for a total transaction of $273,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 63,912 shares in the company, valued at $2,330,231.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael J. Crawford sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total transaction of $375,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,891.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSBC. Comerica Bank lifted its position in WesBanco by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 8,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in WesBanco by 81.0% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 39,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,489,000 after buying an additional 17,764 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in WesBanco by 28.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 2,165 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in WesBanco during the 2nd quarter worth about $255,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in WesBanco by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 374,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,432,000 after buying an additional 8,305 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.69% of the company’s stock.
About WesBanco
WesBanco, Inc operates as the holding company for WesBanco Bank, Inc that provides retail banking, corporate banking, personal and corporate trust, brokerage, and mortgage banking and insurance services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Community Banking, and Trust and Investment Services.
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