WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $42.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

WSBC has been the topic of several other reports. DA Davidson downgraded WesBanco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WesBanco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of WesBanco from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, WesBanco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

WesBanco Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of WSBC opened at $35.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.81. WesBanco has a 1-year low of $26.42 and a 1-year high of $37.18. The stock has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.86 and a beta of 0.81.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $261.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.38 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 8.28% and a net margin of 13.91%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that WesBanco will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. This is a boost from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director F Eric Nelson, Jr. sold 752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.37, for a total value of $25,094.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Zahid Afzal bought 3,321 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.11 per share, with a total value of $99,995.31. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 13,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $398,144.53. This trade represents a 33.54% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of WesBanco by 255.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of WesBanco in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in WesBanco in the third quarter valued at $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in WesBanco by 77.9% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in WesBanco by 71.9% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Company Profile

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.