MCF Advisors LLC Buys 170,000 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 17,801.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 170,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 170,000 shares during the quarter. WesBanco comprises approximately 0.4% of MCF Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. MCF Advisors LLC owned about 0.26% of WesBanco worth $5,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSBC. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the third quarter worth about $116,114,000. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in WesBanco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,333,000. F M Investments LLC acquired a new stake in WesBanco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,726,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in WesBanco by 25.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 695,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,712,000 after buying an additional 142,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 466.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 152,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,266,000 after buying an additional 125,883 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of WSBC stock opened at $31.97 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $33.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.04. WesBanco, Inc. has a one year low of $25.56 and a one year high of $37.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $243.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.40 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.79%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.63%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is presently 70.81%.

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $39,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at $1,632,508.79. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stephens boosted their price target on WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.83.

WesBanco 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.