Wall Street Zen Upgrades Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) to "Hold"

Key Points

• Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ: WABC) has been upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, indicating a more favorable outlook for the stock.
• The consensus rating for Westamerica Bancorporation is now "Hold" with an average price target of $52.00 according to market analysts.
• Shares of WABC opened at $47.97 on Friday and have shown a 1.2% decline recently, with the company reporting a return on equity of 13.81% during its last earnings report.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on WABC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Westamerica Bancorporation has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Westamerica Bancorporation Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of WABC stock opened at $47.97 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $49.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.82. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 0.61. Westamerica Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $42.00 and a fifty-two week high of $59.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $64.88 million for 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%. Equities analysts predict that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 89,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,323,000 after buying an additional 4,552 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 32,377 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,570,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 295.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 3,305 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 64.6% in the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 28,220 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,367,000 after buying an additional 11,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc increased its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 24.7% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 24,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,182,000 after buying an additional 4,835 shares in the last quarter. 81.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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