Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Director Inez Wondeh Acquires 451 Shares

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Director Inez Wondeh acquired 451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $48.51 per share, for a total transaction of $21,878.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 946 shares in the company, valued at $45,890.46. The trade was a 91.11 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

WABC opened at $48.43 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 0.63. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $42.00 and a 52-week high of $59.97.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.07. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 44.55% and a return on equity of 16.15%. The company had revenue of $66.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.47 million. As a group, analysts predict that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Westamerica Bancorporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WABC. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Westamerica Bancorporation from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st.

Institutional Trading of Westamerica Bancorporation

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 21,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 4.5% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 52,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,754,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.89% 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.