WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $39.43.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WSBC shares. Raymond James decreased their price target on WesBanco from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded WesBanco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised WesBanco from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th.

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WesBanco Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of WSBC traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $26.79. 624,237 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 396,466. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.84. WesBanco has a 52 week low of $25.56 and a 52 week high of $37.36. 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 company has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.76.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that WesBanco will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.52%. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.07%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of WesBanco in the third quarter worth approximately $56,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in WesBanco by 807.0% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,814 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in WesBanco by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,079 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new position in shares of WesBanco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of WesBanco by 668.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,467 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company's stock.

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.