EMC Capital Management Sells 11,630 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. $WSBC

EMC Capital Management decreased its holdings in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 81.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,630 shares during the quarter. EMC Capital Management’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $82,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 40.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,413,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,702,469 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in WesBanco by 42.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,793,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $179,358,000 after buying an additional 1,730,801 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in WesBanco by 35.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,456,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,052,000 after buying an additional 640,003 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in WesBanco by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,389,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,588,000 after acquiring an additional 172,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,859,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,568,000 after acquiring an additional 82,434 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WesBanco news, Director Todd Clossin purchased 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $200,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $200,000. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Cornelsen acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $250,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased a total of 52,921 shares of company stock worth $1,339,995 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ WSBC opened at $30.42 on Thursday. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.42 and a 12 month high of $37.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $31.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.53. The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 0.89.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $261.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.38 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 13.91% and a return on equity of 8.55%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This is an increase from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WSBC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded WesBanco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Tuesday. DA Davidson lowered shares of WesBanco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective 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 equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.17.

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.