Centiva Capital LP Acquires New Stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 22,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $657,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSBC. Avalon Advisory Group grew its position in WesBanco by 34.5% during the third quarter. Avalon Advisory Group now owns 11,131 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 2,853 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the 3rd quarter worth about $12,333,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of WesBanco by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 2,302 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of WesBanco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $296,000. Finally, Fourthstone LLC acquired a new position in WesBanco in the 3rd quarter worth about $494,000. 61.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WesBanco Price Performance

Shares of WSBC traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $36.32. 616,823 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 322,719. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $32.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38 and a beta of 0.84. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.56 and a 12-month high of $37.36.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $243.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.40 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 5.75%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. Research analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. This is a positive change from WesBanco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of WesBanco from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.83.

Insider Activity

In other WesBanco news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $39,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at $1,632,508.79. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.