WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.37 Per Share

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 21st,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of 0.37 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36.

WesBanco has raised its dividend by an average of 3.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. WesBanco has a payout ratio of 45.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect WesBanco to earn $3.16 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 45.6%.

WesBanco Price Performance

Shares of WSBC stock traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $36.07. 164,436 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 248,432. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $31.52 and a 200 day moving average of $30.08. 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 52-week low of $25.56 and a 52-week high of $36.87. The company has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78 and a beta of 0.81.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $243.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.40 million. WesBanco had a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 5.75%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that WesBanco will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at WesBanco

In other news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 46,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,632,508.79. This represents a 2.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.