WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Short Interest Up 23.1% in March

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,760,000 shares, an increase of 23.1% from the March 15th total of 1,430,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 665,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in WesBanco during the first quarter worth $1,756,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in WesBanco during the first quarter worth $300,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in WesBanco by 34,162.5% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 13,705 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 13,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 4.0% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 62,789 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,944,000 after buying an additional 2,393 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WesBanco Stock Performance

NASDAQ WSBC traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $29.29. 28,282 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 414,472. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 0.76. WesBanco has a 12-month low of $25.56 and a 12-month high of $37.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.32 and a 200 day moving average of $32.74.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 15.89%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WesBanco will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised WesBanco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of WesBanco from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.43.

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.