WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $36.17.

WSBC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Stephens boosted their price target on WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th.

WesBanco Stock Down 0.0 %

WesBanco stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $35.52. The stock had a trading volume of 614,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 255,010. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $32.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.58. WesBanco has a 1-year low of $25.56 and a 1-year high of $37.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

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

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is an increase from WesBanco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. WesBanco's payout ratio is currently 68.90%.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In related news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 directly owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at $1,632,508.79. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP raised its holdings in WesBanco by 215.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,337 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in WesBanco by 214.5% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in WesBanco in the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in WesBanco in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in WesBanco by 175.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.