WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $35.15, but opened at $36.38. WesBanco shares last traded at $36.52, with a volume of 263,088 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WSBC. Stephens upped their price target on WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James upgraded shares of WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.83.

WesBanco Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $32.67 and its 200 day moving average is $30.61. The stock has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00 and a beta of 0.84.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. WesBanco had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.79%. The firm had revenue of $243.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total value of $39,228.75. Following the completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in WesBanco during the third quarter worth about $116,114,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of WesBanco by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,934,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,313,000 after purchasing an additional 35,030 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,419,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,268,000 after purchasing an additional 32,879 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in WesBanco by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 695,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,712,000 after buying an additional 142,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in WesBanco by 2.5% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 500,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,917,000 after buying an additional 11,987 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.