WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $31.55, but opened at $32.94. WesBanco shares last traded at $32.14, with a volume of 34,936 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WSBC shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James raised WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised WesBanco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $40.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.83.

WesBanco Trading Up 2.1 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.96. The stock has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

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

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 22,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 6,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 665 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.