Brokerages Set WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) PT at $40.00

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.00.

WSBC has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson lowered WesBanco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WesBanco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of WesBanco from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director F Eric Nelson, Jr. sold 752 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.37, for a total transaction of $25,094.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Zahid Afzal acquired 3,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.11 per share, with a total value of $99,995.31. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,223 shares in the company, valued at $398,144.53. This represents a 33.54% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in WesBanco by 255.1% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in WesBanco during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in WesBanco by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in WesBanco by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WesBanco Price Performance

WSBC stock opened at $34.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.22 and a 200-day moving average of $32.29. The company has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. WesBanco has a 12-month low of $26.42 and a 12-month high of $37.18.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $261.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $263.38 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 13.91%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that WesBanco will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This is an increase from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.55%.

WesBanco Company Profile

WesBanco, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia, offering a full range of community banking services through its principal subsidiary, WesBanco Bank, Inc The company serves individual consumers, small‐ to mid‐sized businesses, nonprofit organizations and governmental entities with a relationship‐driven approach and an emphasis on local decision‐making. Through its diversified platform, WesBanco provides core banking functions such as deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage banking, treasury management and electronic banking services.

In addition to traditional banking products, WesBanco offers specialized services including trust and wealth management, investment advisory and insurance solutions.