RiverFront Investment Group LLC Acquires New Stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC bought a new position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 18,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $586,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WSBC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in WesBanco in the 4th quarter worth about $1,771,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in WesBanco by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 318,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,367,000 after purchasing an additional 86,014 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its position in WesBanco by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 780,444 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,396,000 after purchasing an additional 156,903 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,710,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,361,000 after buying an additional 705,483 shares during the period. Finally, Bridge City Capital LLC grew its position in shares of WesBanco by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 99,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,245,000 after buying an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WesBanco Price Performance

NASDAQ WSBC opened at $30.86 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.56 and a 12-month high of $37.36.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last announced its 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%. Analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. WesBanco’s payout ratio is currently 66.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on WSBC shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James upgraded shares of WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of WesBanco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $40.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com raised WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.83.

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.