Systematic Financial Management LP Takes $780,000 Position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Systematic Financial Management LP bought a new position in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 26,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $780,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of WesBanco by 27.5% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 5,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in WesBanco by 64.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 4,760 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its position in WesBanco by 31.7% in the second quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 14,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in shares of WesBanco by 3.9% during the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 17,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of WesBanco by 4.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 490,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,685,000 after buying an additional 21,297 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WSBC shares. Stephens raised their target price on WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James upgraded shares of WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.83.

WesBanco Price Performance

WSBC stock opened at $36.32 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $32.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.67. WesBanco, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.56 and a 52-week high of $37.36. The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38 and a beta of 0.84. 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 (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $243.34 million during 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. 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’s dividend payout ratio is 68.90%.

Insider Transactions at WesBanco

In other WesBanco news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $39,228.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.44% of the company’s stock.

WesBanco 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.