Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Price Target Raised to $55.00

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) had its target price upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $53.00 to $55.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.50.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Performance

Shares of WABC stock opened at $51.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average of $48.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.75. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $42.00 and a 52 week high of $52.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.05. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 12.52% and a net margin of 42.75%.The business had revenue of $66.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.90 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Westamerica Bancorporation declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 0.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,831,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter valued at $241,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 87.2% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 309,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,014,000 after buying an additional 144,405 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 162.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 19,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $979,000 after buying an additional 12,133 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation during the second quarter valued at about $737,000. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Westamerica Bancorporation

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ: WABC) is a California-based bank holding company that provides a comprehensive suite of commercial banking, trust and wealth management services. Through its primary subsidiary, Westamerica Bank, the company offers deposit products, lending solutions and treasury management to a diverse clientele that includes small and mid-sized businesses, professionals, non-profit organizations and individuals.

The company’s lending portfolio encompasses commercial real estate financing, agricultural loans, equipment financing and lines of credit designed to support working capital needs.