Emerald Advisers LLC Makes New Investment in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new stake in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 368,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,419,000. Emerald Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.55% of WesBanco at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 48.2% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 25,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 8,323 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust acquired a new stake in WesBanco in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,747,000. Xponance Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WesBanco during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 33,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,027,000 after buying an additional 3,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 45.4% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on WesBanco from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on WesBanco from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on WesBanco in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on WesBanco from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WesBanco presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.71.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of WSBC traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $32.17. 727,975 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 490,630. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.91. WesBanco, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.42 and a twelve month high of $37.36. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $31.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.85.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $253.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $206.63 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 6.07% and a net margin of 10.52%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. Analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.60%. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio is currently 96.73%.

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.