Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Westamerica Bancorporation from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Maxim Group cut Westamerica Bancorporation from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Performance

Westamerica Bancorporation stock opened at $48.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.07 and a 200-day moving average of $49.19. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $43.04 and a 52 week high of $58.49.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $79.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.28 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 20.17% and a net margin of 47.12%. On average, analysts expect that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Westamerica Bancorporation’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westamerica Bancorporation

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Westamerica Bancorporation during the second quarter worth $36,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation in the first quarter worth $75,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 13.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation in the first quarter worth $113,000. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation in the first quarter worth $140,000. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.