Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.02), Yahoo Finance reports. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 49.39% and a return on equity of 23.61%.

Westamerica Bancorporation Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:WABC opened at $45.55 on Friday. Westamerica Bancorporation has a twelve month low of $35.52 and a twelve month high of $57.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.95.

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Investors of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. Westamerica Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 29.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David L. Payne sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.75, for a total transaction of $746,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 288,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,362,277.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO David L. Payne sold 8,728 shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $444,691.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 333,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,001,454.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David L. Payne sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.75, for a total value of $746,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 288,689 shares in the company, valued at $14,362,277.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $2,213,458 over the last ninety days. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westamerica Bancorporation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 53,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,033,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Westamerica Bancorporation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $654,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,151,000 after purchasing an additional 15,858 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 67.9% during the 4th quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 55,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,120,000 after buying an additional 22,364 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 20,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after buying an additional 4,533 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WABC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Westamerica Bancorporation from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

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.