Huntington National Bank Purchases 1,410 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Huntington National Bank grew its position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 8.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,410 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WSBC. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in WesBanco by 105.3% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 33,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 17,345 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of WesBanco during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,555,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 490,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,685,000 after acquiring an additional 21,297 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 466.7% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 152,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,266,000 after acquiring an additional 125,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $212,000. 61.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WesBanco Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $35.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.56 and a 12-month high of $36.87. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.93.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $243.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.40 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.79%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is 68.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WesBanco

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSBC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Hovde Group upped their price objective on WesBanco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Stephens upped their target price on WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on WesBanco from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.17.

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.