Bfsg LLC Buys New Position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 39,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,217,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WSBC. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 1.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in WesBanco by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in WesBanco by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in WesBanco by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 6,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WSBC shares. Piper Sandler began coverage on WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of WesBanco from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of WesBanco from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.71.

WesBanco Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ WSBC opened at $29.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.59 and a beta of 0.85. WesBanco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.09 and a 1-year high of $37.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.25 and a 200-day moving average of $32.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.06. WesBanco had a return on equity of 6.07% and a net margin of 10.52%. The firm had revenue of $253.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $206.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. WesBanco’s payout ratio is 96.73%.

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.