Stephens Reiterates “Equal Weight” Rating for WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC)

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reiterated by Stephens in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $39.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Stephens’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.77% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, Raymond James upgraded WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.67.

WesBanco Price Performance

NASDAQ WSBC traded up $2.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $33.98. The stock had a trading volume of 209,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,867. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.79 and its 200 day moving average is $32.03. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 0.85. WesBanco has a twelve month low of $25.56 and a twelve month high of $37.36.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.17. WesBanco had a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 5.75%. Equities research analysts forecast that WesBanco will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other WesBanco news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $39,228.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,632,508.79. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in WesBanco in the third quarter valued at approximately $116,114,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,934,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,313,000 after buying an additional 35,030 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,419,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,268,000 after buying an additional 32,879 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in WesBanco by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 695,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,712,000 after acquiring an additional 142,597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in WesBanco by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 500,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,917,000 after acquiring an additional 11,987 shares during the period. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.