Short Interest in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Expands By 17.0%

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) saw a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,720,000 shares, a growth of 17.0% from the August 15th total of 1,470,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 266,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.5 days. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stephens upped their target price on shares of WesBanco from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on WesBanco from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their target price on WesBanco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WesBanco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.71.

WesBanco Stock Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $30.82 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.06 and a 200-day moving average of $29.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 0.83. WesBanco has a 52 week low of $23.00 and a 52 week high of $34.85.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.04). WesBanco had a return on equity of 5.90% and a net margin of 15.22%. The company had revenue of $234.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. Analysts predict that WesBanco will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.67%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 5,363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.19, for a total value of $161,908.97. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at $1,413,405.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of WesBanco by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 811,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,450,000 after purchasing an additional 48,304 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in WesBanco by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 490,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,685,000 after acquiring an additional 21,297 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in WesBanco during the 4th quarter worth $8,620,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 2.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 227,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,348,000 after purchasing an additional 6,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 1.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 209,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,231,000 after purchasing an additional 3,425 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.