Short Interest in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Rises By 32.3%

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,540,000 shares, an increase of 32.3% from the December 31st total of 1,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 401,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.3 days. Approximately 3.9% of the company's stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at WesBanco

In related news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSBC. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in WesBanco by 42.2% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 50,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of WesBanco by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 75,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,110,000 after acquiring an additional 5,747 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in WesBanco by 466.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 152,858 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,266,000 after purchasing an additional 125,883 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in WesBanco by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 31,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 18.4% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 31,797 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $887,000 after purchasing an additional 4,945 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WSBC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of WesBanco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Raymond James raised shares of WesBanco from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WesBanco presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $39.17.

WesBanco Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WSBC remained flat at $35.00 during trading hours on Thursday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 309,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 455,405. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $33.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.25. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63 and a beta of 0.85. WesBanco has a 52 week low of $25.56 and a 52 week high of $37.36.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.17. WesBanco had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 6.30%. Equities analysts expect that WesBanco will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. This is a positive change from WesBanco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. WesBanco's payout ratio is 66.07%.

WesBanco Company 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.