WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $34.85 and last traded at $34.85, with a volume of 7181 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.17.

WesBanco Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $30.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 0.81.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $243.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.40 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 5.75%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. WesBanco’s payout ratio is 68.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSBC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 43.3% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after buying an additional 10,375 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in WesBanco by 8.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 163,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,887,000 after purchasing an additional 12,392 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in WesBanco in the first quarter worth $212,000. Smithfield Trust Co increased its position in WesBanco by 0.9% in the first quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 49,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in WesBanco by 1.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 209,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,231,000 after purchasing an additional 3,425 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Company Profile

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.