WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday after DA Davidson raised their price target on the stock from $44.00 to $45.00. DA Davidson currently has a buy rating on the stock. Approximately 461,284 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 7% from the previous session’s volume of 431,418 shares.The stock last traded at $34.89 and had previously closed at $35.30.

WSBC has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.17.

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In related news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,632,508.79. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco in the 3rd quarter worth $116,114,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in WesBanco by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,934,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,313,000 after purchasing an additional 35,030 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in WesBanco by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,419,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,268,000 after buying an additional 32,879 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in WesBanco by 25.8% during 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, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 2.5% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 500,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,917,000 after buying an additional 11,987 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $33.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 0.85.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 4.22%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.07%.

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.