Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Plans $0.44 Quarterly Dividend

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd.

Westamerica Bancorporation has raised its dividend payment by an average of 1.6% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Westamerica Bancorporation has a dividend payout ratio of 37.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Westamerica Bancorporation to earn $4.65 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.76 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.8%.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Up 0.5 %

WABC traded up $0.23 during trading on Friday, reaching $47.44. The company had a trading volume of 151,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 123,692. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.01 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.14. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $35.52 and a 52 week high of $57.96.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $78.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.34 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 21.99% and a net margin of 48.35%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WABC shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded Westamerica Bancorporation from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $57.00 target price (down from $58.00) on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a research report on Monday, April 22nd.

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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO John A. Thorson sold 1,100 shares of the firm's 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David L. Payne sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total value of $495,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 268,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,302,792.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,372 shares of company stock worth $1,074,481. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.