Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Westamerica Bancorporation from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Westamerica Bancorporation from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 19th.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Performance

WABC opened at $46.78 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.87 and its 200-day moving average is $48.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.72 and a beta of 0.56. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $35.52 and a 52-week high of $57.96.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $78.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.34 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 49.39% and a return on equity of 23.61%. On average, research analysts predict that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. Westamerica Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 29.04%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David L. Payne sold 15,000 shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.75, for a total transaction of $746,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 288,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,362,277.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO David L. Payne sold 11,272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.79, for a total transaction of $527,416.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,417 shares in the company, valued at $11,342,691.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David L. Payne sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.75, for a total value of $746,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 288,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,362,277.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,213,458. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westamerica Bancorporation

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth about $70,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 91.0% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 123.9% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Westamerica Bancorporation Company Profile

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.