ProShare Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in Westamerica Bancorporation $WABC

ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 166,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,714,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $195,706,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 944,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,265,000 after buying an additional 47,127 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Westamerica Bancorporation during the second quarter valued at $12,407,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 59.6% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 152,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,949,000 after buying an additional 56,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 3.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,882,000 after buying an additional 5,616 shares during the last quarter. 81.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on WABC shares. Wall Street Zen raised Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Westamerica Bancorporation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Westamerica Bancorporation from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.00.

Westamerica Bancorporation Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ WABC opened at $60.38 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.12. The company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 0.58. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52-week low of $46.23 and a 52-week high of $63.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.10 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 41.63% and a return on equity of 12.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share.

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio is 41.38%.

Westamerica Bancorporation Profile

Westamerica Bancorporation is a bank holding company headquartered in San Rafael, California. Through its principal subsidiary, Westamerica Bank, the company provides community banking services to individuals, businesses and public-sector customers.

Westamerica Bank offers deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, residential and commercial real estate loans, construction financing, cash-management services and electronic banking solutions. Its lending and deposit activities are primarily focused on small and midsized businesses, professionals, nonprofit organizations and retail customers.

The company serves communities throughout Northern and Central California through a network of banking offices and digital channels.