WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $31.74, but opened at $32.75. WesBanco shares last traded at $34.24, with a volume of 71,948 shares.

The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.17. WesBanco had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 15.89%.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.33%. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of WesBanco stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total value of $39,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,632,508.79. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WSBC. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in WesBanco during the third quarter valued at approximately $116,114,000. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in WesBanco during the 3rd quarter valued at $12,333,000. F M Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of WesBanco during the 3rd quarter valued at $7,726,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 17,801.0% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 170,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,626,000 after buying an additional 170,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 695,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,712,000 after buying an additional 142,597 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco Stock Up 2.2 %

The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $33.72 and a 200 day moving average of $32.09.

About WesBanco

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.