MCF Advisors LLC Buys 170,000 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 17,801.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 170,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 170,000 shares during the period. WesBanco accounts for about 0.4% of MCF Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in WesBanco were worth $5,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WSBC. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 99,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,775,000 after acquiring an additional 10,927 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in WesBanco by 2.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 227,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,348,000 after purchasing an additional 6,043 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 50,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of WesBanco by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 75,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 5,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of WesBanco by 466.7% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 152,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,266,000 after buying an additional 125,883 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WesBanco news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.87, for a total transaction of $39,228.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,632,508.79. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WesBanco Stock Performance

Shares of WSBC stock opened at $31.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.04. WesBanco, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.56 and a 12 month high of $37.36.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. WesBanco had a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 5.75%. The business had revenue of $243.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.40 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that WesBanco, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

WesBanco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This is a positive change from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. WesBanco’s payout ratio is 70.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WSBC. Raymond James raised WesBanco from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.83.

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.