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 released on Tuesday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Westamerica Bancorporation from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Westamerica Bancorporation from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 19th.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of WABC opened at $45.55 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $46.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.95. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $35.52 and a 52-week high of $57.96. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 0.56.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.02). Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 49.39% and a return on equity of 23.61%. The business had revenue of $80.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.03 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David L. Payne sold 8,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $444,691.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 333,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,001,454.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO David L. Payne sold 8,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $444,691.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 333,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,001,454.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David L. Payne sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total value of $495,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 268,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,302,792.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,213,458 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westamerica Bancorporation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 91.0% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 123.9% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. 81.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.