Systematic Financial Management LP Buys New Position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Systematic Financial Management LP bought a new stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 26,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $780,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WSBC. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of WesBanco by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 64.0% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,193 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 4,760 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank increased its position in WesBanco by 31.7% during the 2nd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 14,535 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in WesBanco by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 17,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in WesBanco by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 490,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,685,000 after purchasing an additional 21,297 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company's stock.

WesBanco Trading Up 3.3 %

WSBC stock traded up $1.16 on Friday, hitting $36.32. 616,823 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 322,719. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38 and a beta of 0.84. WesBanco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.56 and a twelve month high of $37.36. The business's fifty day moving average is $32.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.67.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $243.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.40 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.79%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. This is an increase from WesBanco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total value of $39,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,632,508.79. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WSBC shares. Stephens lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded WesBanco from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WesBanco has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.83.

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.