EMC Capital Management Cuts Stock Holdings in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

EMC Capital Management lessened its holdings in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 64.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,728 shares during the quarter. EMC Capital Management’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in WesBanco by 42.2% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 50,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WesBanco by 8.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 75,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after buying an additional 5,747 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 466.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 152,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,266,000 after buying an additional 125,883 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of WesBanco by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 31,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $865,000 after buying an additional 1,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of WesBanco by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 31,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $887,000 after acquiring an additional 4,945 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James raised WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $39.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned 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 $39.17.

WesBanco Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WSBC opened at $35.00 on Friday. WesBanco, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.56 and a 52 week high of $37.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $33.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63 and a beta of 0.85.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.17. WesBanco had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 6.30%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at $1,632,508.79. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco 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.