WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Increases Dividend to $0.37 Per Share

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 21st,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.37 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This is an increase from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36.

WesBanco has raised its dividend by an average of 3.3% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. WesBanco has a payout ratio of 45.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect WesBanco to earn $3.16 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 45.6%.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of WSBC opened at $36.06 on Friday. WesBanco has a 52-week low of $25.56 and a 52-week high of $36.87. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.13.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. WesBanco had a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 5.75%. The company had revenue of $243.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.40 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. Analysts forecast that WesBanco will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSBC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of WesBanco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on WesBanco from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Stephens boosted their target price 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.17.

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In other WesBanco news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.