WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.60.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WSBC. DA Davidson started coverage on WesBanco in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on WesBanco in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of WesBanco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in WesBanco by 12,500.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 255.1% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of WesBanco in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Price Performance

Shares of WSBC stock opened at $34.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.46. WesBanco has a one year low of $26.42 and a one year high of $38.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.84. The firm had revenue of $265.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.53 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 8.81%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that WesBanco will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.43%.

WesBanco Company Profile

WesBanco, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia, offering a full range of community banking services through its principal subsidiary, WesBanco Bank, Inc The company serves individual consumers, small‐ to mid‐sized businesses, nonprofit organizations and governmental entities with a relationship‐driven approach and an emphasis on local decision‐making. Through its diversified platform, WesBanco provides core banking functions such as deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage banking, treasury management and electronic banking services.

In addition to traditional banking products, WesBanco offers specialized services including trust and wealth management, investment advisory and insurance solutions.