Bailard Inc. Makes New $687,000 Investment in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 24,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $687,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in WesBanco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WesBanco in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in WesBanco by 26,200.0% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 3,144 shares during the period. Comerica Bank raised its stake in WesBanco by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in WesBanco by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,617 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In related news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 5,363 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.19, for a total transaction of $161,908.97. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,413,405.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

WesBanco Price Performance

WSBC stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Monday, hitting $32.39. The company had a trading volume of 239,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,698. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.76. WesBanco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.00 and a fifty-two week high of $34.85. The company has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.84.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.04). WesBanco had a return on equity of 5.90% and a net margin of 15.22%. The firm had revenue of $234.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WSBC. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Hovde Group boosted their price target on WesBanco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on WesBanco from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Stephens boosted their price objective on WesBanco from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.71.

About WesBanco

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.