EMC Capital Management Trims Stock Position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

EMC Capital Management lessened its holdings in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Free Report) by 64.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,728 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management's holdings in WesBanco were worth $245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in WesBanco by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,419,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,268,000 after acquiring an additional 32,879 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in WesBanco in the 3rd quarter worth $1,148,000. FMR LLC grew its position in WesBanco by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 695,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,712,000 after purchasing an additional 142,597 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in WesBanco during the 3rd quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in WesBanco by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,049 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSBC has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised WesBanco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James raised WesBanco from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson raised their target price on WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WesBanco currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.17.

WesBanco Price Performance

WSBC stock traded up $0.80 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $35.12. The stock had a trading volume of 141,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 440,119. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. WesBanco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.56 and a twelve month high of $37.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 0.84. The company's 50-day moving average price is $33.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.31.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.17. WesBanco had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 15.89%. As a group, research analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.21%. This is a positive change from WesBanco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $39,228.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,632,508.79. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.44% of the company's stock.

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.