SG Americas Securities LLC Cuts Position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Free Report) by 86.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 19,325 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in WesBanco were worth $102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WSBC. CWM LLC increased its stake in WesBanco by 175.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in WesBanco by 9.3% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 13,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its stake in WesBanco by 17.5% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 37,349 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 5,552 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in WesBanco during the third quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in WesBanco by 2,090.4% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 22,846 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 21,803 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of WSBC stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $36.43. The stock had a trading volume of 358,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,127. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $33.72 and its 200 day moving average is $32.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from WesBanco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio is 66.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on WSBC shares. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of WesBanco from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James upgraded shares of WesBanco from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised WesBanco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.83.

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.