Piper Sandler Cuts Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) Price Target to $50.00

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) had its target price reduced by Piper Sandler from $51.00 to $50.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on WABC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Westamerica Bancorporation from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th.

Westamerica Bancorporation Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WABC opened at $47.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.00 and a beta of 0.56. Westamerica Bancorporation has a 52 week low of $35.52 and a 52 week high of $57.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.90 and a 200 day moving average of $49.09.

Westamerica Bancorporation (NASDAQ:WABC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.34 million. Westamerica Bancorporation had a return on equity of 21.99% and a net margin of 48.35%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Westamerica Bancorporation will post 5.3 EPS for the current year.

Westamerica Bancorporation Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. Westamerica Bancorporation’s payout ratio is presently 29.73%.

Insider Transactions at Westamerica Bancorporation

In other news, CEO David L. Payne sold 15,000 shares of the company’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 directly owns 288,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,362,277.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $46.79, for a total transaction of $527,416.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 242,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,342,691.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David L. Payne sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.75, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 36,272 shares of company stock valued at $1,768,767. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Westamerica Bancorporation

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Westamerica Bancorporation by 248.3% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 2,235 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group purchased a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at $397,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Westamerica Bancorporation by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 26,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,511,000 after purchasing an additional 6,462 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at $1,874,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Westamerica Bancorporation in the fourth quarter valued at $9,733,000. 81.89% of the stock is 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.