Westamerica Bancorporation’s (WABC) “Market Perform” Rating Reiterated at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued their market perform rating on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $57.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $58.00.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Westamerica Bancorporation from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com cut Westamerica Bancorporation from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WABC opened at $47.86 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.11. The company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 0.56. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $35.52 and a 52-week high of $57.96.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.02). Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 21.99% and a net margin of 48.35%. The business had revenue of $78.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.34 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Westamerica Bancorporation news, CFO John A. Thorson sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total transaction of $51,964.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO David L. Payne sold 11,272 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.79, for a total value of $527,416.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,417 shares in the company, valued at $11,342,691.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John A. Thorson sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total value of $51,964.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,372 shares of company stock worth $1,074,481 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westamerica Bancorporation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 42.1% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 128,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,263,000 after purchasing an additional 37,972 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 248.3% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,235 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group acquired a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation during the 4th quarter worth about $397,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 26,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,511,000 after acquiring an additional 6,462 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation during the 4th quarter worth about $1,874,000. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.