WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• WesBanco, Inc. experienced a significant 28.8% decline in short interest in July, with 1,360,000 shares sold short as of July 31st.
• Brokerages have adjusted their price targets for WesBanco, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowering their target from $43.00 to $40.00 and Royal Bank of Canada from $36.00 to $34.00.
• The company's most recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.91, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.87, with expectations for a full-year EPS of 3.24.

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,360,000 shares, adeclineof28.8% from the July 15th total of 1,910,000 shares. Approximately1.5% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 539,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 539,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately1.5% of the company's stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of WesBanco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in WesBanco by 58.8% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 185,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,758,000 after acquiring an additional 68,832 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 258.9% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 39,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,215,000 after buying an additional 28,302 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 258,682 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,009,000 after acquiring an additional 17,172 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH bought a new stake in shares of WesBanco in the 1st quarter worth about $2,108,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 492,167 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,015,000 after acquiring an additional 58,214 shares during the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WSBC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on WesBanco from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on WesBanco from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.83.

WesBanco Stock Up 5.3%

Shares of WSBC stock traded up $1.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $32.83. 548,758 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 527,189. WesBanco has a 1 year low of $26.42 and a 1 year high of $37.36. The company's 50 day moving average is $31.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78 and a beta of 0.87.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $260.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $261.14 million. WesBanco had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 11.65%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that WesBanco will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. WesBanco's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.16%.

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.