State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) by 17.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 857,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 124,661 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned 3.26% of Westamerica Bancorporation worth $47,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 3.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 263,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,696,000 after buying an additional 9,883 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation during the first quarter worth about $157,000. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 17.2% in the first quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 156,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,749,000 after buying an additional 22,989 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 48,285.6% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,192,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $178,235,000 after buying an additional 3,185,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Westamerica Bancorporation by 6.3% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 213,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,946,000 after buying an additional 12,588 shares during the last quarter. 86.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) opened at 51.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.06 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $54.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.26. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 12-month low of $46.92 and a 12-month high of $65.34.
Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 20th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 33.83% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The company had revenue of $47.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Westamerica Bancorporation will post $2.32 earnings per share for the current year.
Westamerica Bancorporation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 27th that permits the company to repurchase 1,750,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 7th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. Westamerica Bancorporation’s payout ratio is currently 66.67%.
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A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WABC. BidaskClub cut Westamerica Bancorporation from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Maxim Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in a report on Friday, April 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Westamerica Bancorporation from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $56.00 in a report on Friday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.00.
In related news, Director Edward B. Sylvester sold 1,260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.40, for a total value of $68,544.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 72,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,943,456. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Westamerica Bancorporation Company Profile
Westamerica Bancorporation is a bank holding company. The Company provides a range of banking services to individual and corporate customers in Northern and Central California through its subsidiary bank, Westamerica Bank. The communities served are located in Northern and Central California, from Mendocino, Lake and Nevada Counties in the north to Kern County in the south.
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