WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Rating Increased to Outperform at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $44.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $40.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on WSBC. Raymond James raised shares of WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. DA Davidson raised their target price on WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.83.

WesBanco Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of WesBanco stock opened at $36.45 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27 and a beta of 0.84. WesBanco has a 52 week low of $25.56 and a 52 week high of $37.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.39. 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 (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its quarterly 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 analysts anticipate that WesBanco will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.07%.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. CWM LLC grew its position in WesBanco by 175.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in WesBanco by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new stake in WesBanco in the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,146 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.