WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) Upgraded by Raymond James to “Strong-Buy” Rating

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) was upgraded by analysts at Raymond James from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $44.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $35.00. Raymond James’ price objective points to a potential upside of 23.87% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.83.

WesBanco Price Performance

Shares of WSBC stock opened at $35.52 on Friday. 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 has a 12 month low of $25.56 and a 12 month high of $37.36. The firm has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.00 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.61.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. WesBanco had a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 5.75%. The business had revenue of $243.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that WesBanco will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $39,228.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,632,508.79. The trade was a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WesBanco

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 215.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in WesBanco by 214.5% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 175.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is owned by 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.