KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Raises Holdings in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in WesBanco, Inc. by 67.2%, holding a total of 21,463 shares valued at approximately $670,000.
• WesBanco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.48 and a yield of 4.65%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on WesBanco, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.83 despite recent price objective reductions by multiple firms.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its holdings in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Free Report) by 67.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,463 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,630 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in WesBanco were worth $670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in WesBanco by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 136,516 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,442,000 after purchasing an additional 14,777 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of WesBanco by 68.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 44,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 17,907 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in WesBanco by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,710,539 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $218,361,000 after purchasing an additional 705,483 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in WesBanco by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 318,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,367,000 after acquiring an additional 86,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of WesBanco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,771,000. 61.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on WSBC shares. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on WesBanco in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of WesBanco from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on WesBanco from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.83.

WesBanco Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WSBC traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 765,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 612,493. WesBanco, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.42 and a 1-year high of $37.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.93.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. WesBanco had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 11.65%. The company had revenue of $260.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $261.14 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.73%.

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.