WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Short Interest Update

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WesBanco news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 5,363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.19, for a total value of $161,908.97. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,413,405.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in WesBanco by 105.3% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 33,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 17,345 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in WesBanco in the 1st quarter valued at $3,555,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position 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 worth $13,685,000 after buying an additional 21,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco during the 1st quarter worth about $212,000. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WesBanco Price Performance

NASDAQ WSBC opened at $30.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. WesBanco has a 52-week low of $23.00 and a 52-week high of $34.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 0.83.

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

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 60.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.