Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New $328,000 Investment in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of WesBanco during the third quarter worth $116,114,000. State Street Corp grew its position in WesBanco by 1.8% during 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $42,268,000 after buying an additional 32,879 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 25.8% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 653,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,270,000 after buying an additional 152,766 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WesBanco Price Performance

WesBanco stock opened at $30.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $33.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. WesBanco, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.56 and a 1 year high of $37.36.

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, equities research analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.84%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSBC has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson lifted their price target on WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $40.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.83.

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.