87,692 Shares in Westamerica Bancorporation $WABC Acquired by Man Group plc

Man Group plc bought a new position in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 87,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,145,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the second quarter valued at $1,588,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 48.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 86,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,505,000 after purchasing an additional 28,009 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 5.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 944,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,265,000 after buying an additional 47,127 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Westamerica Bancorporation during the second quarter worth about $195,706,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 59.6% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 152,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,949,000 after buying an additional 56,900 shares during the last quarter. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WABC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.00.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WABC opened at $58.07 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.55. Westamerica Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $44.93 and a twelve month high of $63.61.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $62.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.60 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 41.71%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share.

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Westamerica Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 42.29%.

Westamerica Bancorporation Company Profile

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ: WABC) is a California-based bank holding company that provides a comprehensive suite of commercial banking, trust and wealth management services. Through its primary subsidiary, Westamerica Bank, the company offers deposit products, lending solutions and treasury management to a diverse clientele that includes small and mid-sized businesses, professionals, non-profit organizations and individuals.

The company’s lending portfolio encompasses commercial real estate financing, agricultural loans, equipment financing and lines of credit designed to support working capital needs.