Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Rating Reiterated by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC)‘s stock had its “market perform” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a research report issued 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective points to a potential upside of 19.35% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on WABC. StockNews.com cut Westamerica Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of WABC opened at $47.76 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.07 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.11. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 1 year low of $35.52 and a 1 year high of $57.96.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David L. Payne sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.75, for a total transaction of $746,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 288,689 shares in the company, valued at $14,362,277.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO David L. Payne sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total value of $495,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 268,689 shares in the company, valued at $13,302,792.39. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David L. Payne sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.75, for a total value of $746,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 288,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,362,277.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,272 shares of company stock worth $1,768,767. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 20.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,198,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,828,000 after acquiring an additional 206,376 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 782,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,155,000 after buying an additional 21,547 shares in the last quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 4.1% in the third quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 313,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,573,000 after buying an additional 12,316 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 300,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,941,000 after buying an additional 18,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 8.3% in the third quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 186,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,060,000 after buying an additional 14,206 shares in the last quarter. 81.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.