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

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $78.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.34 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a net margin of 48.35% and a return on equity of 22.79%.

Westamerica Bancorporation Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WABC opened at $46.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.90 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.98. Westamerica Bancorporation has a fifty-two week low of $35.52 and a fifty-two week high of $57.96.

Westamerica Bancorporation Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at Westamerica Bancorporation

In other Westamerica Bancorporation news, CEO David L. Payne sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.75, for a total value of $746,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 288,689 shares in the company, valued at $14,362,277.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO David L. Payne sold 11,272 shares of Westamerica Bancorporation stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.79, for a total transaction of $527,416.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 242,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,342,691.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David L. Payne sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.75, for a total value of $746,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sold 45,000 shares of company stock worth $2,213,458. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WABC. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Westamerica Bancorporation by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 42,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,579,000 after acquiring an additional 2,231 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,138,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $189,858,000 after purchasing an additional 28,152 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 4.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 91,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 1.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 676,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,900,000 after buying an additional 8,955 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 2.6% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 25,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,525,000 after buying an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.89% of the company’s stock.

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.