WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday morning.

WSBC has been the subject of several other reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday. Raymond James upgraded shares of WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WesBanco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.67.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of WSBC opened at $34.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average is $33.72 and its 200-day moving average is $32.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. WesBanco has a 12 month low of $25.56 and a 12 month high of $37.36.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.17. WesBanco had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 6.30%. Equities analysts expect that WesBanco will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.33%. This is a boost from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.07%.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In other WesBanco news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,632,508.79. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 3rd quarter worth about $1,148,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 695,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,712,000 after purchasing an additional 142,597 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the 3rd quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in WesBanco by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.