Stephens Raises WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Price Target to $34.00

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) had its price objective boosted by Stephens from $27.00 to $34.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of WesBanco from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of WesBanco from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $34.71.

WesBanco Price Performance

NASDAQ WSBC opened at $30.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. WesBanco has a 52-week low of $23.00 and a 52-week high of $34.85.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $234.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $148.40 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 5.90%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that WesBanco will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 5,363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.19, for a total transaction of $161,908.97. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,413,405.23. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in WesBanco by 105.3% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 33,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after buying an additional 17,345 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in WesBanco by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 811,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,450,000 after buying an additional 48,304 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in WesBanco by 3,037.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 102,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,269,000 after buying an additional 99,280 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in WesBanco in the 1st quarter valued at $3,555,000. Finally, Greylin Investment Management Inc bought a new stake in WesBanco in the 4th quarter valued at $246,000. 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.