Bailard Inc. Increases Position in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Bailard Inc. grew its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) by 49.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,104 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation were worth $700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,198,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,828,000 after acquiring an additional 206,376 shares during the period. Clifford Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 313,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,573,000 after purchasing an additional 12,316 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 282,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,198,000 after purchasing an additional 13,758 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 186,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,060,000 after purchasing an additional 14,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the 3rd quarter worth $2,990,000. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WABC. StockNews.com cut Westamerica Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Westamerica Bancorporation from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective (down previously from $58.00) on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a research report on Monday, April 22nd.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WABC opened at $47.44 on Friday. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $35.52 and a 1 year high of $57.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.01 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $47.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.11.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $78.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.34 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 48.35% and a return on equity of 21.99%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. Westamerica Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 29.73%.

Insider Transactions at Westamerica Bancorporation

In other news, CFO John A. Thorson sold 1,100 shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total transaction of $51,964.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Westamerica Bancorporation news, CEO David L. Payne sold 10,000 shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total value of $495,100.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John A. Thorson sold 1,100 shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total value of $51,964.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,372 shares of company stock worth $1,074,481 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.40% 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.