Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.02), Yahoo Finance reports. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 22.79% and a net margin of 48.35%. The firm had revenue of $78.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.34 million.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

WABC stock opened at $46.78 on Friday. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 1-year low of $35.52 and a 1-year high of $57.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $46.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.90 and a beta of 0.56.

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. Westamerica Bancorporation’s payout ratio is 29.73%.

Insider Transactions at Westamerica Bancorporation

In other news, CEO David L. Payne sold 11,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.79, for a total value of $527,416.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 242,417 shares in the company, valued at $11,342,691.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO David L. Payne sold 11,272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.79, for a total value of $527,416.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 242,417 shares in the company, valued at $11,342,691.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David L. Payne sold 8,728 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $444,691.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 333,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,001,454.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $2,213,458 over the last quarter. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Westamerica Bancorporation

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 53,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,033,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation in the fourth quarter worth $654,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,151,000 after acquiring an additional 15,858 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 67.9% in the fourth quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 55,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,120,000 after acquiring an additional 22,364 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 20,888 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,178,000 after acquiring an additional 4,533 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WABC shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Westamerica Bancorporation from $51.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com cut Westamerica Bancorporation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Westamerica Bancorporation from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 19th.

About Westamerica Bancorporation

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.