Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms “Sector Perform” Rating for WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Royal Bank of Canada restated their sector perform rating on shares of WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $35.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Hovde Group upped their price target on WesBanco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on WesBanco from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on WesBanco from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $34.71.

WesBanco Price Performance

NASDAQ:WSBC opened at $30.02 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.01. The firm has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.83. WesBanco has a one year low of $23.00 and a one year high of $34.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $234.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that WesBanco will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 5,363 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,413,405.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On WesBanco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSBC. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 215.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its holdings in WesBanco by 18.4% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 31,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $887,000 after purchasing an additional 4,945 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 4.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 31,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $865,000 after buying an additional 1,410 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 466.7% in the second 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. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of WesBanco by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 75,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after buying an additional 5,747 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

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.