WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after Stephens lowered their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $27.00. The stock had previously closed at $29.00, but opened at $28.14. Stephens currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. WesBanco shares last traded at $28.31, with a volume of 15,021 shares.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Hovde Group decreased their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of WesBanco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSBC. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $223,000. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $357,000. Bill Few Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 12,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 12,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 3,361 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 2,516 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WesBanco Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $28.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 0.86.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56. The firm had revenue of $225.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $147.81 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 17.52% and a return on equity of 6.54%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.27 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.19%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. WesBanco’s payout ratio is 60.00%.

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.