Wall Street Zen Downgrades Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) to Sell

Key Points

• Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) was downgraded from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen.
• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target for the company from $55.00 to $54.00, with a "market perform" rating.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $1.12 per share, slightly beating analysts' expectations but falling short on revenue projections.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on WABC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Westamerica Bancorporation from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $52.00.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WABC opened at $45.31 on Friday. 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 has a 12-month low of $42.00 and a 12-month high of $59.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $48.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.48 and a beta of 0.61.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $64.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $65.80 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 43.69%. Equities research analysts forecast that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 354.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 854 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 126.1% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 866 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation during the first quarter worth about $96,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation during the first quarter worth about $99,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 100.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,490 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares during the period. 81.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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