Empowered Funds LLC Buys 9,466 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 195,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,466 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.29% of WesBanco worth $6,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of WesBanco in the third quarter valued at approximately $116,114,000. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in WesBanco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,333,000. F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in WesBanco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,726,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of WesBanco by 17,801.0% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 170,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,626,000 after acquiring an additional 170,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 25.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 695,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,712,000 after purchasing an additional 142,597 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Price Performance

WesBanco stock opened at $36.45 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. WesBanco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.56 and a 52-week high of $37.36.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.17. WesBanco had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 6.30%. On average, equities analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is an increase from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is 66.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WSBC. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James raised WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of WesBanco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.83.

WesBanco 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.