Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in WesBanco by 43.3% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after buying an additional 10,375 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in WesBanco by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 163,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,887,000 after acquiring an additional 12,392 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in WesBanco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $212,000. Smithfield Trust Co increased its stake in WesBanco by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 49,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in WesBanco by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 209,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,231,000 after purchasing an additional 3,425 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WSBC. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of WesBanco from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of WesBanco in a report on Monday, September 9th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stephens raised their target price on WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.17.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of WSBC opened at $36.01 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.50. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 0.81. WesBanco, Inc. has a one year low of $24.55 and a one year high of $36.13.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $243.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.40 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 5.75% and a net margin of 14.79%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. WesBanco’s payout ratio is 68.90%.

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.