WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on WSBC. Raymond James upgraded shares of WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $35.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, WesBanco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.67.

WesBanco Price Performance

NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $34.16 on Friday. WesBanco has a 52 week low of $25.56 and a 52 week high of $37.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $33.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.12. The company has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts expect that WesBanco will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other WesBanco news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $39,228.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at $1,632,508.79. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSBC. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in 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. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 2.7% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 50,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 75,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 5,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 466.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 152,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,266,000 after purchasing an additional 125,883 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

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.