Huntington National Bank Boosts Stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,410 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP lifted its stake in WesBanco by 215.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 214.5% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in WesBanco during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in WesBanco by 175.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in WesBanco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $80,000. 61.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WSBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of WesBanco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a report on Monday, September 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $39,228.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,632,508.79. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WesBanco Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of WSBC stock opened at $35.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. WesBanco, Inc. has a one year low of $25.56 and a one year high of $36.87. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $31.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.93. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 0.81.

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

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.90%.

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.