WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Separately, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of WesBanco from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $32.17.

WesBanco Stock Performance

WesBanco stock opened at $25.26 on Monday. WesBanco has a fifty-two week low of $19.84 and a fifty-two week high of $41.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $26.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.23 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $153.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.14 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 8.49% and a net margin of 26.04%. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that WesBanco will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.54%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is currently 45.60%.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In other news, Director Gregory S. Proctor, Jr. bought 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.08 per share, with a total value of $98,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 41,913 shares in the company, valued at $1,176,917.04. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 3.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in WesBanco by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 31,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in WesBanco by 423.3% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 34,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,191,000 after acquiring an additional 28,046 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in WesBanco in the first quarter valued at $237,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in WesBanco by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 25,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $905,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in WesBanco by 57.4% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 33,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 12,095 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.34% of the company’s stock.

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, and mortgage banking and insurance services. The company operates in two segments, Community Banking, and Trust and Investment Services. It offers commercial demand, individual demand, and time deposit accounts; commercial, mortgage and individual installment loans; retail loans, such as residential real estate mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, and loans for other consumer purposes; installment loans to finance the purchase of automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, boats, and other recreational vehicles, as well as home equity installment loans, unsecured home improvement loans, and revolving lines of credit; and various non-traditional offerings, such as insurance and securities brokerage services.