Dark Forest Capital Management LP Purchases 33,768 Shares of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its position in WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) by 328.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,768 shares during the quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.07% of WesBanco worth $1,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in WesBanco by 807.0% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,614 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of WesBanco by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new stake in shares of WesBanco during the 4th quarter valued at about $78,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in WesBanco by 668.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its holdings in WesBanco by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. 61.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WesBanco Trading Up 3.7 %

WSBC opened at $28.99 on Wednesday. WesBanco, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.56 and a fifty-two week high of $37.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $31.46 and its 200 day moving average is $32.76.

WesBanco (NASDAQ:WSBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.17. WesBanco had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 15.89%. As a group, research analysts predict that WesBanco, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WesBanco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. WesBanco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSBC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of WesBanco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of WesBanco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $40.00 to $44.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of WesBanco from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of WesBanco in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.43.

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.