StockNews.com Upgrades WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) to “Hold”

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James upgraded WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.67.

WesBanco Price Performance

WesBanco stock traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $34.16. 551,405 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 402,667. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.09. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25 and a beta of 0.85. WesBanco has a 1-year low of $25.56 and a 1-year high of $37.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.17. WesBanco had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 15.89%. As a group, analysts forecast that WesBanco will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related 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 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 approximately $1,632,508.79. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of WesBanco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $116,114,000. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WesBanco during the third quarter valued at $12,333,000. F M Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WesBanco in the 3rd quarter valued at $7,726,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 17,801.0% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 170,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,626,000 after purchasing an additional 170,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in WesBanco by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 695,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,712,000 after purchasing an additional 142,597 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

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.