WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $38.10 and last traded at $37.78, with a volume of 350350 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.89.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson downgraded WesBanco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Piper Sandler started coverage on WesBanco in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WesBanco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.00.

WesBanco Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70 and a beta of 0.80.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.84. WesBanco had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 15.51%.The company had revenue of $265.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a boost from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. WesBanco’s payout ratio is 73.43%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director F Eric Nelson, Jr. sold 752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.37, for a total value of $25,094.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in WesBanco during the 4th quarter worth $269,000. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in WesBanco in the fourth quarter valued at about $208,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 21,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the fourth quarter valued at about $274,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 189,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,292,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About WesBanco

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.