WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.71.

WSBC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on WesBanco from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on WesBanco from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler started coverage on WesBanco in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on WesBanco from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in WesBanco by 258.9% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 39,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,215,000 after buying an additional 28,302 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,108,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of WesBanco by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 492,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,015,000 after purchasing an additional 58,214 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of WesBanco by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,537,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,022,000 after purchasing an additional 116,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco in the first quarter valued at approximately $145,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of WesBanco stock opened at $32.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.61 and its 200-day moving average is $31.86. WesBanco has a one year low of $26.42 and a one year high of $37.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $253.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $206.63 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 6.07% and a net margin of 10.52%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that WesBanco will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.73%.

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.