Denali Advisors LLC Invests $897,000 in Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)

Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 17,708 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $897,000. Denali Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Westamerica Bancorporation at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,505,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $183,898,000 after purchasing an additional 34,762 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 875,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,919,000 after purchasing an additional 9,928 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 753,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,515,000 after purchasing an additional 17,649 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 393,998 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,669,000 after purchasing an additional 59,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 334,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,555,000 after purchasing an additional 52,399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.89% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Robert James Baker, Jr. sold 710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.16, for a total value of $34,193.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP John A. Thorson sold 2,243 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.57, for a total value of $108,942.51. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,591 shares of the company's stock, valued at $562,974.87. The trade was a 16.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ WABC traded down $0.62 on Friday, reaching $50.14. 121,564 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 136,625. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $49.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.47. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 0.64. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 12 month low of $42.00 and a 12 month high of $59.97.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 43.69%. The firm had revenue of $64.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.80 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This is an increase from Westamerica Bancorporation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Westamerica Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio is 38.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WABC. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Westamerica Bancorporation from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Westamerica Bancorporation from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Westamerica Bancorporation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th.

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.