Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold" Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday.

WABC has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $54.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

Westamerica Bancorporation Trading Down 0.3%

WABC stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $48.44. 109,407 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 137,934. Westamerica Bancorporation has a one year low of $42.00 and a one year high of $59.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.69.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.07. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 44.10% and a return on equity of 14.95%. The firm had revenue of $66.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.47 million. As a group, analysts predict that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. This is a boost from Westamerica Bancorporation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Westamerica Bancorporation's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.87%.

Insider Activity at Westamerica Bancorporation

In other news, SVP Robert James Baker, Jr. sold 710 shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.16, for a total transaction of $34,193.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP John A. Thorson sold 2,243 shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.57, for a total transaction of $108,942.51. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,591 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $562,974.87. This represents a 16.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westamerica Bancorporation

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WABC. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 144,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,600,000 after acquiring an additional 5,368 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 4,946.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 109,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,534,000 after acquiring an additional 107,144 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 61,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,232,000 after acquiring an additional 8,100 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 37,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,960,000 after acquiring an additional 1,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 22,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 8,342 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.89% of the company's stock.

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.