Hovde Group Cuts WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Price Target to $34.00

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) had its target price cut by Hovde Group from $36.00 to $34.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

WSBC has been the subject of several other reports. Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James raised WesBanco from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $34.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WesBanco currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $30.60.

WesBanco Trading Down 0.9 %

WSBC opened at $27.52 on Wednesday. WesBanco has a 12 month low of $19.84 and a 12 month high of $32.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $28.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.27.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.56. WesBanco had a return on equity of 6.54% and a net margin of 17.52%. The firm had revenue of $225.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $147.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that WesBanco will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,979,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,019,000 after acquiring an additional 71,928 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its holdings in WesBanco by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,681,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,134,000 after buying an additional 39,808 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,484,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,258,000 after purchasing an additional 140,870 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 811,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,450,000 after purchasing an additional 48,304 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of WesBanco by 3,621.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 510,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,471,000 after buying an additional 496,958 shares during the period. 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.