Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Declares $0.46 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• Westamerica Bancorporation declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, with a yield of 3.9%, payable on November 14th to shareholders of record by November 3rd.
• The company reported earnings of $1.12 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and anticipates a future payout ratio of 46.6% based on expected earnings of $3.95 per share next year.
• Analysts have rated Westamerica Bancorporation as a "Hold," with an average target price of $52.00, while the stock price has shown slight decline, opening at $47.23.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.46 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, November 14th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd.

Westamerica Bancorporation has a payout ratio of 44.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Westamerica Bancorporation to earn $3.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 46.6%.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of WABC opened at $47.23 on Friday. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $42.00 and a 52-week high of $59.97. The company has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.04. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 43.19% and a return on equity of 13.10%. The firm had revenue of $64.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.20 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WABC shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Westamerica Bancorporation from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Westamerica Bancorporation has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $52.00.

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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