WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday after DA Davidson raised their price target on the stock from $44.00 to $45.00. DA Davidson currently has a buy rating on the stock. Approximately 461,284 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 7% from the previous session’s volume of 431,418 shares.The stock last traded at $34.89 and had previously closed at $35.30.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on WSBC. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $35.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.17.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP grew its holdings in WesBanco by 215.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of WesBanco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 175.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new stake in WesBanco during the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WesBanco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Trading Down 1.4 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $33.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.19. The firm has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.85. 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 (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.17. WesBanco had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 15.89%. Analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. This is an increase from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.07%.

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.