Piper Sandler Initiates Coverage on WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $37.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on WSBC. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of WesBanco from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of WesBanco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $39.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, WesBanco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.43.

WesBanco Stock Down 2.6 %

WSBC stock opened at $27.80 on Thursday. WesBanco has a fifty-two week low of $25.56 and a fifty-two week high of $37.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.84.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WesBanco will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.32%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is 66.07%.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 22,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank grew its stake in WesBanco by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased 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 worth $68,000 after buying an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in WesBanco by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 20,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.