Moody National Bank Trust Division Increases Position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 33.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,405 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 98,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in WesBanco by 12.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 99,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,775,000 after purchasing an additional 10,927 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in WesBanco by 41.4% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 13,414 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 2.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 227,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,348,000 after buying an additional 6,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of WesBanco by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 50,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,410,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at WesBanco

In other WesBanco 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 owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at $1,632,508.79. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WSBC shares. Raymond James raised shares of WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.83.

WesBanco Price Performance

WesBanco stock opened at $30.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 0.85. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.56 and a 12-month high of $37.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $34.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.86.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $243.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.40 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 5.75%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.85%. This is an increase from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. WesBanco’s payout ratio is currently 70.81%.

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.