WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.17 EPS

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.17, Zacks reports. WesBanco had a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 5.75%.

WesBanco Price Performance

NASDAQ WSBC traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.74. The company had a trading volume of 657,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 362,825. The company has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.19 and a beta of 0.85. WesBanco has a twelve month low of $25.56 and a twelve month high of $37.36. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $33.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.04.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from WesBanco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. WesBanco's payout ratio is presently 70.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WesBanco 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 value of $39,228.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,817 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 3.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WSBC shares. Raymond James raised WesBanco from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.83.

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.

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