Westamerica Bancorporation $WABC Stock Position Raised by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Free Report) by 27.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,697 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,219 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.32% of Westamerica Bancorporation worth $4,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 4.5% in 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 in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 3.6% during 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 buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 815.6% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 824 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,698 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.89% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WABC. Wall Street Zen downgraded Westamerica Bancorporation from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Westamerica Bancorporation from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of WABC traded up $1.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 71,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 151,274. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.63. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $42.00 and a 1-year high of $59.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $64.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.80 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 43.69%. Analysts predict that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Westamerica Bancorporation's payout ratio is currently 38.49%.

Westamerica Bancorporation 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.