Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.02), Yahoo Finance reports. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 49.39% and a return on equity of 23.61%.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WABC opened at $45.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s fifty day moving average is $46.84 and its 200 day moving average is $48.95. Westamerica Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $35.52 and a fifty-two week high of $57.96.

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Westamerica Bancorporation

In other Westamerica Bancorporation news, CEO David L. Payne sold 15,000 shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.75, for a total value of $746,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 288,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,362,277.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO David L. Payne sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.75, for a total value of $746,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 288,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,362,277.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David L. Payne sold 11,272 shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.79, for a total value of $527,416.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 242,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,342,691.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $2,213,458 over the last 90 days. 4.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westamerica Bancorporation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 42,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,579,000 after purchasing an additional 2,231 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,138,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $189,858,000 after buying an additional 28,152 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 91,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,493,000 after acquiring an additional 3,527 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 676,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,900,000 after acquiring an additional 8,955 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 25,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,525,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WABC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of 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 reduced their price target on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

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.