WesBanco's Q4 2024 Earnings Forecast by DA Davidson

WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC - Free Report) has received Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates from investment analysts at DA Davidson, as stated in a report released on October 29th. Analyst M. Navas predicts that WesBanco will report earnings of $0.55 per share for the upcoming quarter. Furthermore, DA Davidson has given an optimistic "Buy" rating for the stock, alongside a price target of $42.00.

The current consensus among analysts for WesBanco's total earnings in the present fiscal year stands at $2.06 per share. DA Davidson has also projected financial expectations for FY2025, estimating earnings of $3.30 per share.

Other analysts have recently commented on WesBanco as well. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target from $30.00 to $34.00 and rated it as "market perform" in a note dated August 1st. Meanwhile, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating with a price target of $35.00 in a report published on September 9th. Hovde Group raised their price goal from $34.00 to $38.00 and rated the stock as "outperform" on July 29th. Stephens also adjusted their target for WesBanco from $33.00 to $34.00, issuing an "equal weight" rating. At the moment, the stock has four analysts providing hold ratings and three issuing buy recommendations. According to MarketBeat.com, WesBanco holds an average rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $34.71.

Market Performance

On the trading front, WesBanco shares opened at $31.23 on Wednesday. The company boasts a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, with a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 14.94 and a beta of 0.82. The 50-day moving average of its stock is $30.62, while the 200-day moving average is $29.37. WesBanco's quick ratio and current ratio both are at 0.94, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Over the past year, the stock has fluctuated between a low of $23.94 and a high of $34.85.

WesBanco recently announced its quarterly earnings on October 23rd, reporting earnings of $0.54 per share, which exceeded the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.03. The reported revenue was $243.34 million, significantly higher than the anticipated $152.40 million. The company achieved a net margin of 14.79% and a return on equity of 5.91%. In the same quarter last year, their earnings per share were reported at $0.59.

Dividend Update

The company declared a quarterly dividend that was paid on October 1st to shareholders who were on record by September 6th. A dividend of $0.36 per share was distributed, which results in an annualized dividend of $1.44 and a yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date coincided with September 6th, and WesBanco's payout ratio currently sits at 68.90%.

Insider Trading Activity

In other news, EVP Michael L. Perkins sold 5,363 shares of the company's stock on August 6th at an average price of $30.19, leading to a total transaction value of about $161,908.97. After the sale, Perkins retained ownership of 46,817 shares in WesBanco, worth approximately $1,413,405.23. This transaction reflected no change in their overall ownership percentage. The details of this sale have been publicly disclosed through filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Presently, 3.44% of the shares are reportedly owned by insiders.

Institutional Investor Activity

Hedge funds have recently revised their stakes in WesBanco. In the third quarter, the New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its investment by 2.5%, now owning 500,890 shares valued at about $14,917,000 after acquiring an additional 11,987 shares. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake by 4.5% in the second quarter, now holding 490,335 shares worth $13,685,000. F M Investments LLC made a new investment in WesBanco during this period estimated at around $7,726,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. also grew its position by 2.7% in the second quarter, now owning 227,429 shares valued at $6,348,000 after an additional purchase of 6,043 shares. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake by 1.7% in the first quarter, owning 209,011 shares worth $6,231,000 after acquiring 3,425 extra shares. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds own around 61.41% of WesBanco's stock.

About WesBanco

WesBanco, Inc. serves as the bank holding company for WesBanco Bank, Inc., providing a variety of financial services including retail banking, corporate banking, personal and corporate trust, brokerage, mortgage banking, and insurance services targeting individuals and businesses across the United States. The company operates through two main segments: Community Banking and Trust and Investment Services.

Final Notes

As investment analysts continue to explore the future of WesBanco, stakeholders will certainly watch these developments closely to determine their next financial moves.

Earnings, Stocks, Analysis