WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.37 Per Share

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 21st,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of 0.37 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This is a boost from WesBanco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36.

WesBanco has raised its dividend payment by an average of 3.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 13 years. WesBanco has a payout ratio of 45.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect WesBanco to earn $3.16 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 45.6%.

WesBanco Stock Performance

NASDAQ WSBC traded up $0.99 on Thursday, hitting $36.07. 164,436 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 248,432. The company has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78 and a beta of 0.81. 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 $31.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.08. WesBanco has a 52-week low of $25.56 and a 52-week high of $36.87.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WesBanco news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 1,125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 46,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,632,508.79. This trade represents a 2.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on WSBC. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on WesBanco from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on WesBanco from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Hovde Group upped their target price on WesBanco from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.17.

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.