KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in WesBanco during the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of WesBanco by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc acquired a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in WesBanco by 668.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank lifted its stake in WesBanco by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WSBC. Raymond James lowered their price target on WesBanco from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of WesBanco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $40.00 to $44.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.43.

WesBanco Stock Down 2.6 %

WSBC stock opened at $27.80 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.84. WesBanco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.56 and a fifty-two week high of $37.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.59 and a 200-day moving average of $32.94.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.07%.

WesBanco Company 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.