WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,540,000 shares, a growth of 32.3% from the December 31st total of 1,920,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 401,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.3 days. Currently, 3.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

WesBanco Price Performance

WSBC stock opened at $35.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $33.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63 and a beta of 0.85. WesBanco has a 12-month low of $25.56 and a 12-month high of $37.36.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.17. WesBanco had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 15.89%. As a group, equities analysts predict that WesBanco will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 4.23%. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is 66.07%.

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In other WesBanco news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of WesBanco 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,817 shares of the company’s stock, 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 this hyperlink. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP raised its stake in WesBanco by 215.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of WesBanco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 175.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank grew its stake in WesBanco by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WSBC. Raymond James raised WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.17.

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.