Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday.

WABC has been the topic of several other reports. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Westamerica Bancorporation from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Westamerica Bancorporation from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st.

Westamerica Bancorporation Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ WABC opened at $49.89 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Westamerica Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $42.00 and a twelve month high of $59.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $48.54 and its 200 day moving average is $51.50.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.07. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 16.15% and a net margin of 44.55%. The business had revenue of $66.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.47 million. Research analysts forecast that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from Westamerica Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP John A. Thorson sold 2,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.57, for a total transaction of $108,942.51. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $562,974.87. This represents a 16.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert James Baker, Jr. sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.16, for a total value of $34,193.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westamerica Bancorporation

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 21,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 4.5% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 52,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,754,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $767,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 13.0% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

About Westamerica Bancorporation

Westamerica Bancorporation operates as a bank holding company for the Westamerica Bank that provides various banking products and services to individual and commercial customers. The company accepts various deposit products, including retail savings and checking accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.