WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.60.

Several brokerages have weighed in on WSBC. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings raised WesBanco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Piper Sandler began coverage on WesBanco in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on WesBanco in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 949.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,281,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159,158 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in WesBanco by 179.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,543,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,779,000 after purchasing an additional 991,584 shares during the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in WesBanco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,869,000. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new position in WesBanco during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $19,863,000. Finally, FJ Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 771.4% in the third quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 654,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,892,000 after buying an additional 579,211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Stock Performance

WSBC stock opened at $34.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.46. WesBanco has a one year low of $26.42 and a one year high of $38.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84. The business had revenue of $265.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $265.53 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 8.81%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that WesBanco will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.43%.

WesBanco Company Profile

WesBanco, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia, offering a full range of community banking services through its principal subsidiary, WesBanco Bank, Inc The company serves individual consumers, small‐ to mid‐sized businesses, nonprofit organizations and governmental entities with a relationship‐driven approach and an emphasis on local decision‐making. Through its diversified platform, WesBanco provides core banking functions such as deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage banking, treasury management and electronic banking services.

In addition to traditional banking products, WesBanco offers specialized services including trust and wealth management, investment advisory and insurance solutions.