WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $37.25 and last traded at $37.10, with a volume of 43587 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WSBC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stephens raised their price objective on WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WesBanco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.17.

WesBanco Trading Down 1.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $31.86 and its 200 day moving average is $30.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02 and a beta of 0.81.

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

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,632,508.79. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 3.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of WesBanco by 4.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 490,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,685,000 after acquiring an additional 21,297 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in WesBanco by 22.7% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 23,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 4,269 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 466.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 152,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,266,000 after purchasing an additional 125,883 shares during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of WesBanco by 2,090.4% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 22,846 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 21,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of WesBanco by 17.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 37,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 5,552 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% 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.