Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $2.08 Million Stock Holdings in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 49.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 62,727 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $2,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WSBC. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in WesBanco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $328,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in WesBanco by 2.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,419,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,268,000 after acquiring an additional 32,879 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WesBanco in the third quarter worth about $1,148,000. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 63,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,056,000 after purchasing an additional 9,955 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of WesBanco during the 4th quarter valued at about $323,000. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WesBanco Stock Up 3.0 %

WesBanco stock opened at $28.58 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $32.12 and its 200-day moving average is $32.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 0.76. WesBanco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.56 and a fifty-two week high of $37.36.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.18%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. WesBanco’s payout ratio is 66.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James lowered their target price on WesBanco from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised WesBanco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.43.

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.