Short Interest in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Expands By 32.3%

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,540,000 shares, an increase of 32.3% from the December 15th total of 1,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 401,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.3 days. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

WesBanco Price Performance

Shares of WSBC stock opened at $31.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $34.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.89. WesBanco has a 12 month low of $25.56 and a 12 month high of $37.36.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $243.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.40 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 5.75%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Analysts predict that WesBanco will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is 70.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WesBanco news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in WesBanco by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 98,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,742,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of WesBanco by 12.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 99,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,775,000 after acquiring an additional 10,927 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of WesBanco by 41.4% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after acquiring an additional 13,414 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in WesBanco by 2.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 227,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,348,000 after purchasing an additional 6,043 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in WesBanco by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 50,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is 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.