WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.37 Per Share

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 21st,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of 0.37 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36.

WesBanco has increased its dividend payment by an average of 3.3% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 13 years. WesBanco has a dividend payout ratio of 45.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect WesBanco to earn $3.16 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 45.6%.

WesBanco Price Performance

NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $36.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.13. 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 has a 12 month low of $25.56 and a 12 month high of $36.87.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. WesBanco had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.79%. The company had revenue of $243.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WesBanco will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total value of $39,228.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at $1,632,508.79. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

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.