WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Short Interest Update

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,720,000 shares, a growth of 17.0% from the August 15th total of 1,470,000 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 266,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSBC has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of WesBanco from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stephens upped their target price on WesBanco from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price objective on WesBanco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WesBanco news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 5,363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.19, for a total value of $161,908.97. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,413,405.23. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smithfield Trust Co raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 0.9% in the first quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 49,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,478,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of WesBanco by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 7,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 4.6% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 12,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 3.9% in the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 17,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in WesBanco by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 63,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,985,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WesBanco Stock Up 0.7 %

WSBC opened at $31.04 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.05. WesBanco has a twelve month low of $23.00 and a twelve month high of $34.85.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.04). WesBanco had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 5.90%. The business had revenue of $234.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.40 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that WesBanco will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.00%.

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.